The controversy about the severity of drunken driving seems to have shifted attention away from what the lawmakers intended.

Driving under the influence of alcohol and driving while intoxicated have long been considered a threat to life and property, especially around major traditional festivals when the number of such incidents soars.

The total number of people charged with driving under the influence by traffic police was 630,000 nationwide in 2010 and more than 80,000 were charged with driving while intoxicated.

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Statistics show that in 2008 alone, the total death toll from traffic accidents caused by people driving under the influence and driving while intoxicated reached more than 18,000. As it is clearly impossible for traffic police to check all drivers on the roads, the exact number of incidents is probably much higher.

To a large extent, the inclusion of drunken driving as a criminal offence is intended to deter people from hitting the bottle before getting behind the wheel.

This explains why the amended Criminal Law clearly specifies that anyone caught operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration above the legal limit of 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millimeters of blood will be detained and fined.

The 42-year-old singer, music producer and director, Gao Xiaosong, was sentenced to six months in custody and a 4,000 yuan ($615) on Tuesday after being found guilty of drunken driving that caused an accident

But controversy has arisen over the comment by a vice-president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) last week that less severe cases of drunken driving, those that don't result in an accident or injury or loss of life, should be exempt from criminal punishment.