Hong Kong  - Police in Hong Kong were Sunday preparing to carry out random breath tests on drivers for the first time as tough new laws against drinking and driving come into effect.

From midnight on Sunday, drivers will be stopped at roadblocks and given random breath tests to find out if they are over the limit, a police spokesman said.

Motorists convicted of driving while drunk can be jailed for up to three years, banned from driving and fined a maximum of 3,200 US dollars under the legislation which comes into effect Monday.

The crackdown follows a public outcry over a case in January in which an alleged drunken driver killed six men by crashing his truck into the taxi they were travelling in.

The case brought widespread calls for tougher measures against drunken drivers in the city of 6.9 million where until now drivers have only been breath-tested following road accidents. (dpa)