Hong Kong crash couple 'lied to police' about who was driving when Mercedes ploughed into British women
Man and woman arrested as detectives probe mystery over who was at the wheel when Merc careered out of control in SoHo on Saturday night
A man and his girlfriend who were inside an out-of-control Mercedes-Benz when it ploughed into two British women in the SoHo area of Central on Saturday night have been arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice.
The pair - a 31-year-old man surnamed Chong and a 29-year-old woman surnamed Wong - were questioned by police on Monday night before being released on bail. They have not been charged.
READ MORE: British women injured in SoHo Mercedes-Benz crash 'making progress'
Immediately after the accident, in which two women from Britain were injured, the man allegedly told police he was at the wheel of the car and the woman claimed she was a passenger, police said.
But a police source with knowledge of the investigation said witnesses living near the site of the crash called police saying that "after the crash, the woman was seen getting out from the driver's seat of the car and the man left the vehicle from the front passenger seat".
"The witnesses contacted police on Sunday after they read the news reports that said the driver of the car was the man," the source said yesterday.
He said police were still investigating the cause of the accident, including whether the driver was speeding or whether there was a mechanical fault.
Officers arrested the couple at the man's North Point flat on Monday afternoon. The car is owned by the man's family.
The pair are required to report back to police next month. The charge of perverting the course of justice carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
On Saturday night, a police spokeswoman said the man initially refused to take a breathalyser test.
After making multiple phone calls to friends and drinking water non-stop in between, witnesses said, the man then finally agreed to take the test. The result indicated he had consumed alcohol but was not over the legal limit.
The crash happened at the junction of Aberdeen Street and Hollywood Road shortly after 11pm.
READ MORE: Driver arrested after Mercedes ploughs into two women in Hong Kong nightlife district
The black Mercedes-Benz careered out of control and ploughed into the two British women, both aged 30, at the junction before knocking down a lamp post, and stopped only after crashing into a shop front, leaving a bent road sign under the car.
Karen Thomas, the more seriously injured of the two after she was sent "flying into the air" from the impact, remained in intensive care at Queen Mary Hospital in Pok Fu Lam after an operation on her pelvis and another to clear internal bleeding in her brain, a friend said on Monday.
The hospital said Thomas was still in a serious condition yesterday. She has lived in Hong Kong for six years.
The other injured woman, who was admitted in a stable condition at the same hospital, recovered and was discharged yesterday. She is in the city on a working holiday.
