A HIGH speed chase on Tuen Mun Highway in which one driver lost control of his car cost two innocent lives and left two families bereaved. Yet a court this week sentenced the driver, Tsui Wai-kin, to just one year in jail and a three-year driving disqualification because of his 'deep remorse'.
Being sorry may not be enough. Few motorists can say, hand on heart, that they have never gone over the speed limit. Most have done so at one time or another by more than what the Secretary of the Road Safety Association describes as 'casual speeding' of 10 or 20 kilometres per hour. But only the very reckless would drive at 140 kph on a busy stretch with a 70 kph limit.
To do so is knowingly to put one's own life and those of others at risk. If the worst does happen, there is a good case for charging the reckless driver with manslaughter. The prosecutor said such a course was not appropriate as Tsui had not foreseen he would have an accident and cause injury. Perhaps not. But a crash in such circumstances is more than a casual accident.
The court did not need a manslaughter charge to hand down a heavier sentence. The maximum penalty for causing death by reckless driving is five years. Tsui deserved to get most of that because of the nature of his crime and as an example to others. His disqualification should have been permanent. No doubt Tsui will suffer life-long remorse. But one man's remorse is no deterrent to young bloods with egos bigger than their brains and engines more powerful than either. The sentence insults the victims' memory and other, careful drivers. It will not improve the safety of the territory's roads.
