Driver Jailed For Three Years Over Cop's Death

A truck driver has been sentenced to three years in prison for striking and killing a police officer with his speeding vehicle in To Kwa Wan almost a year ago.

The victim, 51-year-old senior police constable, Lum Hoi-wan, was clearing up a roadblock on the Eastern Kowloon Corridor in To Kwa Wan after having dealt with a traffic accident, when he was hit by the speeding truck.

He died of severe head injuries before paramedics could take him to hospital.

The driver, Ng Kin-shing, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death. The court heard he had been going between 89 and 109 kilometres per hour in a 70 kilometre-per-hour zone at the time of the accident.

The 59 year-old's lawyer asked for leniency, telling the District Court that his client had been in a rush to deliver bread, and had suffered a momentary lapse of judgement in abruptly cutting lanes just before the accident.

But in sentencing, judge Johnny Chan said this was a serious offence, and the accident could have been avoided if the defendant stuck to the speed limit and paid attention to the traffic on the road.

He said Ng failed to even notice the police car's flashing lights, and noted that he had a poor driving record -- with three careless driving offences and four speeding tickets in the past.

The judge then handed down a three-year prison term, with time taken off for Ng's guilty plea.

Ng was also barred from driving for four years, and fined HK$2,000 for using a modified vehicle.