Taiwanese actor Wang Po-chieh's name has been linked to Justin Timberlake's in reports on Tuesday (June 18), but not in a good way.

Both men were arrested for suspected drink-driving on the same day, in Taipei and New York respectively.

After a night drinking with his girlfriend, actress Nikki Hsieh, Po-chieh, 34, reportedly drove out the next afternoon to get his dog groomed at the pet shop. While on the way home, he ended up crashing the car into a tour bus. He was found by police to have a breath alcohol concentration of 0.44mg per litre at around 3.30pm, reported Taiwanese media.

According to the Taiwanese Traffic Management and Penalty Act of 2019, it is an offence to drive a car or ride a motorcycle with a breath alcohol concentration of more than 0.15 mg per litre or blood alcohol level exceeding 0.03 per cent. 

It was later reported that Po-chieh was driving Nikki's car when the incident occurred.

The actor faces a fine and suspension of his driver's license, and Nikki could also be penalised for lending her car to a drink-driver, reported Taiwanese media.

Po-chieh made his movie debut in Winds of September (2008), which earned him Best New Talent at the Taipei Film Awards. More recently, he achieved Best Actor at the same award show for Eye of the Storm (2023) and was also nominated for Best Leading Actor at the Golden Horse Awards for the role.

The actor was released on June 19 after paying bail of NT$50,000 (S$2,085) pending summons, and spoke to reporters outside the Taiwan Shilin District Prosecutors Office.

"I am very, very, very, very, very sorry," he said. "I really didn't think that my alcohol level from the previous night could still be retained [in the body] until the next afternoon and that the test result would be so high."

Po-chieh explained that he had gone to watch a basketball game with Nikki the previous night and had supper before returning home at around midnight. The couple had reportedly consumed whiskey and beer.

Following a night's sleep, he added that he woke up in a "good mental state" and didn't realise he still had alcohol in his system after over 10 hours.

He added in his response to reporters who'd gathered outside the police station that he was "not giving excuses nor reasons" for his actions. 

"Since I've done something wrong, I really have to accept the punishment and apologise," he said.

When asked if he would be drinking in the near future, Po-chieh said: "Of course not" due to the severe penalties of drink-driving.

"I am really quite shocked at the moment," he added. "Because, to be honest, I'm someone who really detests drink-driving. I actually took a ride to watch the game that day, so I really didn't foresee that it would end up like this. 

"I am really sorry."

This isn't the first time Po-chieh's drinking habits have come into question, with past girlfriends, actresses Alice Ko and Larisa Bakurova allegedly breaking up with him due to his alcoholism.

Alice even went on Dee Hsu's talk show Mr Con and Ms Csi in 2015 and discussed an ex who was "obsessed" with alcohol; netizens now speculate she was talking about Po-chieh. 

"He would drink four times a week, and I felt that it was very tiring to take care of a drunk person," she said. 

Back in March, Po-chieh also faced legal troubles, alongside fellow actor Hsiu Chieh-kai, after they reportedly got into a fight with other patrons at a KTV.

Though it was found that they did not initiate the fight, they were suspected to be in breach of Taiwan's Social Order Maintenance Act and their case was sent to the Taipei District Court Summary Division to decide on potential penalties.

Justin Timberlake charged with DWI

On the same day as Po-chieh's case, Justin Timberlake was also arrested and charged with misdeamour driving while intoxicated (DWI) in New York.

A statement by the Sag Harbor Village police read: "On June 18, 2024, at 12:37am, Justin R. Timberlake, age 43, of Tennessee, was observed operating a 2025 BMW southbound on Madison Street, failing to stop at a duly posted stop sign and failing to maintain his lane of travel."

A traffic stop was initiated by a police officer, who discovered Justin was "operating his vehicle in an intoxicated condition".

Justin, who claimed that he had only consumed one drink, was arrested and held overnight and released later that morning, but will be due back in court on July 26.

drimac@asiaone.com

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