BASEBALL/Rakuten Monkeys baseball outfielder fired by team over drunk driving

Taipei, June 11 (CNA) The Rakuten Monkeys baseball team on Tuesday terminated the contract of outfielder Chiu Tan (邱丹) after he was caught the previous day driving under the influence.

The Monkeys, which is one of the six teams in Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), said the 23-year-old Chiu had breached the terms of his contract and was fired with immediate effect.

According to the National Highway Police Bureau, the baseball player was found drunk driving following a breathalyzer test after he crashed his vehicle into a guardrail early Monday morning on a northbound section of National Freeway No. 1 near Madou in Tainan.

No one was injured in the apparent single-vehicle collision, the bureau said, indicating that the case has been handed to the Tainan District Prosecutors Office due to Chiu's alleged offense against public safety.

Shen Yu-chieh (沈鈺傑), the Monkey's deputy leader, reiterated Tuesday that the team has zero-tolerance for drunk driving.

As a professional baseball player and a family man himself, he is supposed to set a good example and be a role model for others, Shen said, pointing out that drunk driving has hurt a lot of families and that Chiu should have known better.

In a separate statement posted via his social media account, Chiu said he knew at the back of his head that drinking and driving is wrong, but still got behind the wheel.

"As a professional baseball player, a husband and father, I'm sorry I let everyone down," he said.

Meanwhile, the outfielder also apologized to the public for his actions and to the Monkeys for hurting the reputation of the team.