Hong Kong man gets 22 months in jail for pregnant woman’s death in truck accident

he court reduced the defendant’s sentence by two months because he accepted most of the evidence raised by prosecutors.

Photo: Jelly Tse A former Hong Kong truck driver who caused the death of a pregnant woman was sentenced to 22 months in prison on Tuesday, with the judge saying the man had made “continuous” wrong decisions in his driving.

District Judge Josiah Lam Wai-kuen also pushed back on the defence’s mitigation argument that the accident had occurred because of a momentary lapse of judgment. “He had acted out of convenience for himself.

This is not a lapse in judgment, but driving with bad judgment,” he said.

Leung Chi-wa, 61, was found guilty of dangerous driving causing death and sentenced to 22 months in prison.

The sentence incorporated a two-month reduction for the defendant’s acceptance of much of the evidence raised by the prosecution.

He earlier pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving causing death, but admitted to careless driving, with the plea being rejected by prosecutors.

On January 9, 2024, Leung was driving a medium-sized truck when he struck the pregnant woman as he turned into Tsun Yip Street from Hoi Bun Road in Kwun Tong.

The victim was crossing the road at the time of the accident.

The woman and her unborn baby of around 16 weeks died after the accident.

The judge said Leung had committed four driving mistakes, which amounted to dangerous driving and caused the death of the pregnant woman.

Lam said the first and most serious mistake was driving along the first lane on the left, then cutting into the second lane shortly before turning onto Tsun Yip Street. “This move did not allow pedestrians to know there would be a vehicle turning into the street,” he said.

The next mistake was that the defendant did not turn on his right blinker to alert pedestrians before making the turn, he added.

The judge also noted that Leung had poorly handled a blind spot, a situation that could have been resolved by turning his head 10cm (4 inches), something which the defendant did not do within a three-second window as he made the turn.

That third error meant the defendant was unable to see the pregnant woman walking onto the road, Lam said.

The final error was the speed at which Leung was driving, which was not above the limit but was still too fast, the judge said.

Lam added the speed was faster than what he had told responding police officers. “The accumulated effects constituted dangerous driving, resulting in the death of [the wo

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