The District Court in Wan Chai. Photo: Fung Chang
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3001917/hong-kong-delivery-man-jailed-three-years-over Law and Crime
Hong Kong delivery man jailed for three years over accident where he rammed policeman, killing him
- Ng Kin-shing, 59, had a history of convictions for careless driving
- Senior constable Lum Hoi-wan died after Ng’s speeding truck hit him in March 2017
The scene of the accident at East Kowloon Corridor near Wo Chung Street in Hung Hom, where Ng Kin-shing’s vehicle rammed into police constable Lum Hoi-wan on March 22, 2017. Photo: Sam Tsang
A delivery man with a record of careless driving was sentenced to three years in jail on Friday for a 2017 crash in which he rammed a police officer with his speeding truck, killing him.
Ng Kin-shing, 59, had his driving licence suspended for four years by District Court Judge Johnny Chan Jong-herng, who also ordered the driver to take part in a driving improvement scheme if he ever wanted to get his licence back.
Ng had earlier pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of senior constable Lum Hoi-wan when he mowed down the officer on the East Kowloon Corridor near Wo Chung Street in Hung Hom on March 22, 2017.
He was driving at a speed of at least 89 kilometres per hour when his truck hit Lam – the road has a maximum speed of 70km/h.
The father of three also pleaded guilty to one extra count of driving with a defective vehicle, which had two unlawful reserve lights. He was fined HK$2,000 for the offence.
The judge described the man’s driving record as “poor” after learning that Ng had been convicted of careless driving on three separate occasions in 2013 and 2014.
He was fined for speeding four more times between 2013 and 2018, the judge was told.
The court heard that Ng, who was delivering bread on the day of the accident, was running late after his previous drop-off at Tseung Kwan O. He was on the way to Kwai Chung, in a hurry, trying to make up time.
When he got to the East Corridor, the court heard, a vehicle before him suddenly switched on its hazard lights. Ng swerved into another lane, but failed to check if it was clear. His vehicle rammed into Lum, who was standing next to a police van, dealing with an earlier traffic accident.
Ng’s barrister Priscilia Lam told the judge in mitigation that it was a momentary error of judgment, thereby putting Ng’s culpability at no more than a intermediate level.
But Chan disagreed, saying that it was impossible for Ng to miss the warning light on the police vehicle.
“Had he been driving at 70km/h and paid attention to the traffic situation, the accident could have been avoided,” Chan said, classifying Ng’s culpability as high.
He said that, although he was sentencing Ng to three years in jail, he acknowledged that the penalty could never make up for the loss of the policeman’s family.