HKSAR v. WAN PUI LEE

DCCC 35/2014

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 35 OF 2014

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  The defendant, Miss Wan Pui-lee, pleaded guilty before me to one charge of careless driving.

2.  An accident took place on 17 June 2013 in Kwun Tong.  The scene in question, Kwun Tong Road, is a divided carriageway with three lanes in each direction.  The speed limit is 70 kilometres per hour.  At the location at which the accident occurred, the road is straight without any bend.  The incident took place at around 10.45 pm.  The weather was fine at the time, and the traffic flow was smooth.

3.  Mr Tang was waiting at a bus stop and playing video games with his mobile phone.  He first heard a continuous loud braking sound of a vehicle.  He looked up and saw the defendant’s vehicle travelling on the third lane of the carriageway.  The defendant’s vehicle seemed to be out of control.  It skidded left to the second lane and continued to skid to the first lane when it rammed into the rear of a double‑decker bus.  The bus was then moving out from the bus‑stop lay-by and was about halfway to the first lane when the impact took place.

4.  After the impact, the defendant’s vehicle bounced onto the pedestrian pavement and knocked down a number of railings at the bus stop.  It finally came to a halt on the pavement with the front of the vehicle facing Kwun Tong Road.

5.  A police officer arrived at the scene of the accident and found a male, Mr Chan Fook-sau, lying on the ground with blood coming from his mouth.  Mr Chan told the police that when the defendant’s vehicle ran into the bus stop and knocked down the railings, he failed to escape in time and was injured by the fallen railings. Mr Chan then became unconscious whilst on the way to the hospital.

6.  Mr Chan, unfortunately, suffered very serious injuries as a result of the accident.  He is totally paralysed and can only move his right hand slightly.  He lost his cognitive ability and is hot-tempered.  He requires nursing care and attention and attendance for his daily life.  According to the diagnosis of the medical expert, Mr Chan’s chance of recovery is slim.

7.  The defendant was interviewed by the police after the accident.  She told the police that at the time of the accident, she was driving her vehicle along the second lane of Kwun Tong Road.  She was driving at the speed of 60 to 70 kilometres per hour.  There was a taxi travelling on the third lane, and the two vehicles were travelling parallel to each other.  The taxi suddenly swerved left and cut into the defendant’s second lane.  The defendant braked and swerved left to avoid a collision.  After that, she swerved right.  The defendant accepts that in doing so, she may have driven for a short distance in the third lane.  The defendant said she seemed to lose control of her vehicle.  She immediately braked, but her vehicle continued to skid in an S path and its offside hit the rear of the double‑decker bus.  

8.  The defendant took a screening breath test at the UCH on 18 June 2013, and the result was negative for alcohol.  The defendant’s vehicle was examined, and the examination report shows that the steering, service brake and parking brake were operative.

9.  The defendant has a clear criminal and traffic record.

10.  I have before me a full written mitigation prepared on behalf of the defendant by Mr Reading SC.  I have also before me a number of mitigation letters written for the defendant by her acquaintances and family members. 

11.  I have before me a community service order report.  According to the probation officer, the defendant has suffered from aftermath anxieties, restlessness, depressed mood and insomnia.  The accident in question has brought disastrous result to the victim, Mr Chan.  He is totally paralysed.  He can only move his right hand slightly.  According to the medical experts, Mr Chan’s chance of recovery is slim.

12.  Whatever sentence I pass on the defendant, it cannot bring Mr Chan’s back to her former health.  Sentencing in a criminal case particularly for the present one is not a means to get even between the offender and the victim.  The culpability of the defendant in the present case lies in her overreaction to the sudden cutting by the taxi.  She overswerved.

13.  I have considered all the matters urged on the defendant’s behalf by Mr Reading.  I have also considered all the materials before me, including the mitigation letters and also the CSO report.  In my judgment, something between a term of immediate imprisonment and a monetary penalty is appropriate in this case. 

14.  A community service order is the proper means to bring home the seriousness of this case.  I order that the defendant be placed under a community service order, and the defendant has to perform unpaid work for a total duration of 160 hours.  In addition, I order that the defendant should complete at her own cost a driving-improvement course within three months.