HKSAR v. LAI HUNG WUT

DCCC859/2012

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO. 859 OF 2012

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Lai Hung-wut, you have been convicted on your own plea of causing the death of Madam Chui Mai-fay on 19 March this year by your dangerous driving.

2.  This tragic incident occurred at around 5.30 in the late afternoon.  The weather was fine that day and the road surface was dry.

3.  You were driving along Kennedy Town New Praya beside the harbour in an easterly direction.  There were two lanes for vehicles travelling in that direction.  On that part of the road, there was no westbound carriageway.  The two eastbound lanes led up to traffic lights at a junction with Smithfield, which ran to the right.

4.  Two sets of arrows painted on the road indicated to vehicles in Kennedy Town New Praya in the left lane that they were only permitted to turn left at the lights.

5.  Another two sets of arrows in the right lane indicated that traffic was only permitted to proceed straight ahead at the lights or to turn left.

6.  A road sign on the traffic lights beside the right lane clearly indicated that vehicles were not permitted to turn right.

7.  At the time in question, you were driving an Isuzu light goods vehicle in the right lane.  You drove up to the traffic lights, which were red, and stopped.

8.  When the lights turned green, despite the arrows in the road and the “no right turn” sign, to which I have referred, you turned right into Smithfield.

9.  Near the mouth of Smithfield at that point was a pedestrian crossing controlled by pedestrian lights and marked with yellow stripes in the road.

10.  At the point in time you turned into Smithfield, the deceased, Madam Chui, who was followed by her daughter and 7-year-old grandson, had just stepped onto the pedestrian crossing from the east side of Smithfield. The pedestrian lights controlling the crossing were green, which would have indicated to her that it was safe to cross the road.

11.  It was not.  And that was because of the dangerous manner in which you were driving.  The nearside of your light goods vehicle struck Madam Chui and then ran over her legs.  She sustained very serious injuries, in particular to her head, from which she died four days later.

12.  You had not only paid no regard to the two sets of arrows painted on the road and the “no right turn” sign, but also after turning right, failed to stop, when it is apparent from the photographs I have been shown that you would have been able to see that there was a pedestrian crossing with a green light and a pedestrian entering onto that crossing.

13.  The absence of skid marks indicates you did not even attempt to brake before hitting Madam Chui.

14.  The death of Madam Chui was not, therefore, the result of one single act or omission by you, but several.

15.  When you were interviewed by the police, you admitted that you were the driver of the vehicle and had made a right turn into Smithfield and had knocked Madam Chui down.  You did not give any other explanation for what you had done.

16.  Today, through Mr Tao, your solicitor, you told the court that the siren of a fire engine which was about to depart from Kennedy Town Fire Station on the west side of Smithfield caused you to become confused and panic-stricken and turn right.

17.  It is not disputed that a fire engine with its siren sounding was just about to leave the yard of the fire station at that time.  Indeed, firemen from the vehicle descended and came to assist Madam Chui after the accident.

18.  While I take this matter into account, the fact that the fire engine was about to move into the road provided no excuse for driving in the way you did.

19.  You have been driving for 33 years and were a professional driver.  It is not a case where the fire engine had moved into your path.  It had not even reached the road.  You were not in its way.

20.  If you had considered that by proceeding, you might in some way obstruct it, then the situation was obvious:  you should have remained where you were at the lights.

21.  I have listened to all that Mr Tao said on your behalf.

22.  I bear in mind what I have been told about the health of your wife.  She had a stroke at the end of last year and, after the medical expenses in Hong Kong became too high, she returned to the Mainland for treatment.  A term of imprisonment would affect your ability to send her money to continue her treatment.

23.  I take into account the letter that has been sent to the court by your employer.

24.  I also bear in mind the remorse that I have no doubt you feel for this terrible accident.

25.  Ultimately, though, I have to bear in mind the life of a 66-year-old mother and grandmother has been taken away by your dangerous driving and that the dominant factor in considering the appropriate sentence is your degree of culpability.

26.  As I have said, this was not simply a case of you forgetting that you were forbidden to turn to the right. 

27.  It also involved you disregarding the fact you were approaching a pedestrian crossing in circumstances where you would have been able to see the light was green for pedestrians and that a lady had or was about to step onto the crossing.  This is a factor that makes this offence considerably more serious than would otherwise be the case.

28.  You have a number of previous convictions for what would appear to be relatively minor, non-driving offences, which I disregard for the purpose of sentence.

29.  You do not have a particular good driving record, including two offences of careless driving, one offence of failing to comply with traffic signals and one conviction for using a mobile telephone or other telecommunication equipment while your vehicle was in motion, but I do not regard this history as a serious aggravating factor.

30.  In my view, the appropriate starting point in this case is 3 years’ imprisonment, which I discount by one-third to reflect your pleas of guilty, resulting in a sentence of 2 years’ imprisonment.

31.  I order that you be disqualified from driving for 5 years or until you have attended and completed a driving improvement course at your own expense, whichever is the later.