Wealthy student at Scottish university has Maserati confiscated after being caught drink-driving twice

A wealthy student at Stirling University had his Maserati confiscated yesterday after he was caught drink-driving for the second time.

Chenao Li, who is studying English at the University and is believed to come from a “prosperous” Chinese family had his car confiscated by Sheriff Gillian Wade QC.

The sheriff fined Mr Li £1,950, banned him from driving for three years and agreed to a motion his car be forfeited after he showed “blatant disregard” for the law.

He said outside of court: “She shouldn’t have confiscated my car.”

When asked if he realised he could have killed someone he laughed and replied: “No.”

Maserati prices start at over £53,000, with the GranCabrio MC Centennial Edition retailing for £126,171.

In the first incident, Mr Li was caught driving on the wrong side of the road at 3:27am on August 22 near the city’s train station.

Adrian Fraser, prosecuting, said: “He was spoken to and the police noticed he was unsteady on his feet. He was using the car for balance and the officers could detect alcohol on his breath.”

A breath sample showed he was three times the legal limit.

Mr Fraser added: “When he was charged, he said, ‘I’ve just arrived in the UK and I don’t know the details of UK law’.”

He was told to appear in court on September 17. However he was caught driving his Maserati again at 11:50pm on August 30.

He was charged and held by police after failing to provide a breath sample.

The student pleaded guilty to drink-driving as well as failure to provide a specimen.