Drivers in China now face stiffer penalties if convicted of drunk driving. The newly amended Criminal Law took effect on Sunday.

25 year old Li became the first person in the Chinese capital to be detained for drunk driving under the amended criminal law. A squad of traffic police from Dongcheng District said they stopped Li at the Chaoyangmen Overpass at midnight.

"We tested twice, he is drunk."

Li was brought to the police office, where a breath test showed his blood alcohol level was almost double the legal limit.

Mr. Li, driver said "I've threatened others' lives, I was wrong, I deserve punishment."

Li said he have travelled to Beijing to visit relatives, and confessed he had drunk beer late on Saturday night.

In recent years, fatal car accidents in Chinese cities have triggered a heated public outcry for harsher penalties.

The newly amended criminal law makes all drunk driving a criminal offence. Offenders will have their drivers' licenses revoked upon conviction, and will have to wait five years to apply for a new one.

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