Hong Kong taxi driver pleads guilty over role in crash that killed 2 pedestrians, injured 4 at busy road crossing in 2021
- Mok Pui-wa pleads guilty to two counts of manslaughter and four of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm over crash in Tai Po in August 2021
- His taxi slammed into busy pedestrian crossing after he accelerated to overtake cars, with pregnant woman and 4-year-old boy among those hit
The High Court on Wednesday heard that 66-year-old Mok Pui-wa had accelerated as he approached the pedestrian crossing, where the traffic lights were red, as he tried to overtake cars ahead of him.
His taxi slammed into six pedestrians, including a pregnant woman and a four-year-old boy, who were walking across Kwong Fuk Road in Tai Po, on August 22, 2021.
Mok pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter and four of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm.
He previously faced a charge of dangerous driving causing death, which the prosecution amended to manslaughter.
Mok’s counsel told the court that the defendant had worked as a private driver for nearly 50 years, and only drove taxis on weekends over the past four decades.
The defendant felt “deep regret and guilt”, and apologised to the family members of the deceased, the lawyer said.
But Mr Justice Andrew Chan Hing-wai said evidence showed Mok was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the mechanical parts of his taxi were in order.