A couple in court for posting online a video showing their 18-month-old son steering a car faced immense pressure that had grown out of proportion, a magistrate said yesterday, but some punishment was necessary because their act could have had irreversible consequences.
Acting Principal Magistrate Rickie Chan Kam-cheong yesterday heard mitigation on behalf of Keith Yu Cho-kwong, 32, who has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, and wife Ng Lai-wa, 27, who admits aiding and abetting the offence.
'They are the ones to blame,' Chan said of Yu and Ng, who was weeping.
'They are parents who should not expose their children to any sort of danger,' he said. 'If the infant lost balance, would you control the car or save the baby? You would not know.'
Chan adjourned sentencing for two weeks pending probation and community service reports, saying the couple did not deserve an immediate jail term.
On August 1, Ng filmed a one-minute, 50-second video showing the infant sitting on her husband's lap and steering a BMW in Cheung Sha Wan near the Hoi Lai public housing estate.
The video was posted on Facebook and soon went viral.