Hong Kong policeman accused of using ‘human shield’ to stop speeding seven-seater vehicle, leaving two dead and four injured

A Hong Kong policeman has been accused of breaching the force’s internal guidelines by using a “human shield” to stop a speeding seven-seater vehicle, leaving two people dead and four others injured two years ago.

Constable Ng Yat-kai denied setting up a makeshift roadblock using at least three vehicles with civilians on board in his pursuit of the silver-coloured seven-seater along Fanling Highway on February 11, 2018.

He admitted, however, that he had instructed vehicles driving along the expressway to slow down, without seeking his seniors’ approval, and that he had forgotten the force’s internal rules, which forbade officers from blocking traffic with a view to intercepting specific vehicles.

The officer was testifying at an inquest on Thursday over the deaths of driver Chung Yat-yeung, 37, and passenger Cheung Tsz-ho, 26, after their seven-seater vehicle rammed into three other cars and Ng’s police motorcycle, and then flipped over on the Tai Po-bound carriageway that afternoon.

Footage played in the Coroner’s Court showed that Ng, driving the motorcycle, waved his right hand and brought the three cars behind him to a stop just seconds before the crash.

A police recording also heard Ng telling his colleagues that he would block “all” vehicles on Fanling Highway.

Three civilians – two male drivers and one female passenger – were injured in the accident, with one man suffering bleeding in the brain. Ng also sustained leg injuries and ended up staying in hospital for three days.

The injured drivers said they had taken the officer’s hand gesture as an instruction to stop, but Ng testified that he had only wished to slow down traffic so that he could safely turn into an interchange with Jockey Club Road 500 metres ahead.