Gerard Depardieu fined USD 5, 290 for drunk driving

Los Angeles: Actor Gerard Depardieu was fined USD 5,290 and had his license suspended for six months by a French court after he was found guilty of driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The charge stemmed from an incident in November last year when Depardieu fell off of his scooter and tested with a blood alcohol level of 1.8, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.5, the Hollywood Reporter said. No other person was involved in the accident. Police statements said that actor smelled strongly of alcohol at the time of his arrest. He was shouting at officers at the time of his arrest. But Depardieu`s lawyer, Eric de Caumont, claimed the actor had consumed a single glass of champagne hours earlier. The actor is infamous for his alcoholism and it is not the first time that he has landed in trouble because of it. In 2011, Depardieu shocked passengers on a flight from Paris to Dublin, Ireland by urinating in the aisle of the plane. He was drunk at the time of the incident. H e was also accused of hitting a motorist in Paris. The French actor, who had slammed the French government for its taxes on the wealthy, was recently given a citizenship of Russia. PTI