HKSAR v TONG TAK LEE, DANNY

DCCC 594/2012

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASE NO 594 OF 2012

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Reasons for Sentence

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1.  Tong Tak-lee, you have been convicted by this court after trial of dangerous driving causing death.

2.  At about 5.50 am on 1 January last year, your vehicle struck a young man, Samuel So Sum-yue, as he was crossing the westbound carriageway of King’s Road in North Point, causing his death.

3.  Samuel So was 20 years old and had come to Hong Kong from Australia where he was studying at Mcquarie University in order to spend Christmas and the New Year vacation with his family.  He had attended a family gathering the previous evening and had gone on to celebrate the coming in of the New Year with friends in Central.  It is apparent that he must have been coming home at the time of the accident. 

4.  I found that very close to the scene of the accident you had been driving far too fast, 90 kilometres an hour, where there was a 50 kilometres an hour speed limit.  You were driving far faster than other vehicles using the road at that time.  Samuel So was not crossing the road at a pedestrian crossing but at a point beyond a light controlled pedestrian crossing.  He had crossed two lanes and was entering the third lane at the time you hit him.

5.  Although you were in the course of slowing down at the time you passed the traffic lights, you were obviously not keeping a proper lookout and the speed at which you had been travelling meant that you were still driving in excess of the speed limit and still not driving at a speed which would have enabled you to stop or take other evasive action to avoid colliding with Mr So.

6.  This was not a case where you had braked and had just failed to stop in time before hitting the deceased, you were still travelling at some speed at the point of impact.

7.  In considering the appropriate sentence in this case, I have borne in mind that the deceased was not crossing the road at the light controlled pedestrian crossing but at a point before that crossing.

8.  I take into account that you are a married man with two teenage daughters who has been running a florist business in Causeway Bay for many years.  Your reaction after the accident was the reaction of a decent man.  You attempted to call the police and were greatly concerned with what had happened to the victim.

9.  It is clear to me that this accident has caused you very great shock and distress.  Even though you did not plead guilty, I believe that you do feel great remorse for what happened.

10.  Although you do have a previous conviction for driving with excessive alcohol, there is no suggestion that you had consumed any alcohol relevant to the time of this accident.  You had gone to bed early and were on your way to work at the time of the accident.

11.  I also bear in mind that you were in the course of slowing down from your original speed of 90 kilometres an hour at the time the accident occurred.

12.  While these are mitigating factors, I have to bear in mind that the life of a young man was taken away as a result of your dangerous driving that morning.  A sentence of immediate imprisonment is inevitable. 

13.  In the circumstances of this case, I am of the view that the appropriate starting point is one of 18 months’ imprisonment. There are no circumstances warranting any discount from that starting point and therefore that is the sentence I pass, 18 months’ imprisonment.

14.  I order you to be disqualified from driving for 5 years and you are ordered to attend and complete a driving improvement course under section 72A of the Road Traffic Ordinance.