We'll back any curbs that work, police chief says after horror crash The police commissioner said yesterday the rise in drink-driving in Hong Kong was alarming and the force would support any measures necessary to stamp out the crime. Tang King-shing's comments came as the driver of a container truck that collided with a taxi on Friday, killing its driver and five passengers, was charged with dangerous driving causing death. The 41-year-old will appear in Kowloon City Court today. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 10 years in jail. The accident, near the Lok Ma Chau border crossing, shocked the city. Family members of the victims went to the Fu Shan public mortuary in Sha Tin yesterday to begin arrangements for their funerals. Among them were the wife of Cheung Yu-lam, who arrived, weeping, from Shenzhen with their four-year-old daughter. 'Where is papa?' the girl, Shi-ting, said through her tears as she searched the mortuary office, unable to understand that her father's life had been cut tragically short. The police commissioner said: 'Anything which could help to curb the problem of [drink-driving], we would support. But I want to stress this requires a wide discussion to reach a consensus among all in society'. While the number of drink-drivers arrested for causing death or serious injury fell from 147 in 2007 to 107 last year, the proportion of those involved in traffic accidents who were found to have exceeded the legal alcohol limit for driving rose from 3.3 per cent in 2007 to 3.8 per cent. Mr Tang said the rise was 'alarming' since it showed the public was still unaware of the seriousness and the consequences of drink-driving. He believes the introduction of random breath testing next month will serve as a deterrent to drink-drivers. Meanwhile, Chan Kam-hong, chief executive of the Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims, and relatives of the dead urged the government to amend the Employee Compensation Ordinance. The families are not entitled to employee compensation because the accident happened when the men - all bar benders - were still on their way to work rather than during the work day. For their journey to qualify as part of the working day the men would have had to have been travelling in a vehicle supplied by their employer. Because they were not, their families miss out on the minimum statutory payment for death at work of HK$303,000. Laws in Taiwan, Japan and on the mainland count employees' journeys to and from work and their lunch breaks as part of the work day, Mr Chan said. He asked why Hong Kong could not introduce similar legislation. Mr Chan said the only option for the families was to sue the truck driver for damages once the criminal case against him has concluded. Lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan will ask for a special meeting of the Legislative Council's manpower panel to discuss the regulations covering employee compensation. Daphne Cheung Wing-yan, spokeswoman for Black Ribbon, which campaigns against drink-driving, said it would launch a petition on February 1 calling for stiffer penalties for drink-driving. The Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims has started a fund to help the families of the dead. Donations can be made to a Hang Seng Bank account numbered 295-421903-003.
