Truck driver guilty in death of woman
An experienced truck driver who ran over an elderly woman while reversing in a narrow lane in Sheung Wan was found guilty yesterday of dangerous driving causing death.
Sentencing for Tsang Yau-chuen, now 53, was adjourned until August 15.
Tsang, who had pleaded not guilty, was reversing in narrow Ki Ling Lane at about 12.10pm on October 5 last year when Lam Chui, 83, was knocked down and trapped under the truck's left-side wheels.
Lam was certified dead at Queen Mary Hospital.
Ki Ling Lane, which runs off Des Voeux Road West, narrows to a width of three metres at the end.
Witness Poon Kin-cheong told Eastern Court that Lam, who had been walking about 2.4 metres behind the slowly reversing truck, was run over when she bent down to pick up some oranges she had dropped from her bag.
The witness said a passer-by had screamed: 'There's someone behind you. Do not reverse.'
The truck stopped, but the witness did not see the driver get out.
Delivering the verdict, magistrate William Ng Sing-wai rejected the defence's claim that Tsang had merely been driving carelessly instead of dangerously. He noted police evidence that the truck had been driven in reverse for at least 31 metres down the narrow lane.
Tsang's actions did not meet the standards expected of an experienced, qualified professional driver, Mr Ng said.
The accident has raised calls from district councillors for vehicles to be prohibited from driving in the lane. In January, the Transport Department announced that only motor vehicles with permits were allowed to enter the lane.
