A man who lied about being admitted to hospital after a road accident on the mainland in order to collect insurance money received 'karmic punishment' when his pregnant daughter was hit by a car and later died, a court heard yesterday.
Tin Kin-kwan was appealing against a four-month sentence he received in Eastern Court on February 21 after he pleaded guilty to trying to cheat the American International Assurance company out of US$20,154 (HK$156,000) with a false claim in July 1998.
Anthony Mitchell-Heggs, counsel for Tin, 49, asked Mr Justice Michael Hartmann in the Court of First Instance to show mercy on his client and give him a suspended 12-month sentence so he could put his daughter to rest according to Taoist funeral rites.
'A thunderbolt has come from somewhere and taught him a lesson and the courts can't improve on this,' he said. 'He has been punished by what has happened. These are extraordinarily tragic circumstances and I am not sure that it is not karmic punishment.
'To tell lies about being in hospital and then to have a grown daughter languishing in hospital in a coma while he is being sentenced . . . is punishment enough.'
After sentencing, Tin was granted bail to be at his daughter's hospital bedside and comfort his family.
