OSLO: A Norwegian businessman was ordered yesterday to pay a fine of 700,000 kroner ($109,000) for driving 400 m while drunk, a court said.

Due to the man's wealth, the court in the southern Norwegian county of Aust-Agder handed down a heavier-than-usual sentence, which would normally be equivalent to a month-and-a-half's gross salary for the accused.

"The principle of proportionality implies that we should take into account the entire wealth of the person in cases where the defendant is more well off than most other people," a copy of the verdict read.