Driver who killed 14 in Egypt is jailed for just a year
The driver of a bus that crashed in Egypt in January, killing 14 Hong Kong tourists, has been sentenced to one year's jail and fined 200 Egyptian pounds ($270), court officials say.
The lenient sentence drew disbelief from families of the victims. But it has cleared the way for them to claim compensation from the tour organiser, which had said it could not act until the investigation into the accident was completed. The survivors of the bus crash, which happened on the Safaga Highway between Hurghada and Luxor on January 31, have threatened to sue Jetour Holiday.
Jetour said last night the matter had been handed to its insurers to determine whether the crash was caused by any negligence on the travel agent's part. Voluntary compensation has been ruled out.
According to court documents disclosed to the Sunday Morning Post, driver Salah Mohamed Mohamed el-Sharqaway appeared before the Red Sea Court at Hurghada on May 2.
He was charged with killing and injuring by mistake and with dangerous driving. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted on both counts. He applied for leave to appeal, but this was refused.
Mohamed was jailed one year for the manslaughter charge and sentenced to one year in prison. He was fined 200 Egyptian pounds for dangerous driving.
The revelation of the driver's fate follows months of inquiries by the Post which have been met with silence by officials both in Egypt and Hong Kong. They include repeated calls to the Immigration Department, the Egyptian consulate in Hong Kong and the Tourist Police Department and the Chinese Embassy in Cairo.
Survivor Ivy Chan Yuk-kwan, who lost her best friend in the crash and herself suffered a spinal injury, was dismayed by the lenient sentence.
'It's pretty light when you consider so many were either killed or seriously injured. It makes me wonder if human life is worth so little,' she said.
Fellow crash victim Leung Ping-yeung said the driver's punishment was not proportional to the harm he inflicted, but was more upset about the lack of concern shown by the Hong Kong travel agency in the wake of the accident.
'Jetour doesn't care about us. They tell us to call them if we need help but every time we do that they ask us to write formally to their lawyers, so it's no help really.'
He said the guilty verdict would help survivors and families of the deceased claim compensation. A group of 19 victims was seeking legal advice and was in the process of hiring legal representation to sue Jetour, Mr Leung said.
The group believes a last-minute change in the tour itinerary was to blame for the accident.
Ronnie Ho Pak-ting, Jetour's managing director, said whether or not the travel agent was at fault would now be determined by its insurance company. He said it was unfair to say that Jetour had treated the survivors poorly, as it had made every effort to assist the victims.
He admitted that the company had received unconfirmed reports of the sentence two weeks ago but had withheld the information from victims and their families until it could be officially verified.
The top police officer in the region where the crash happened sympathised with the victims' families. 'As a family man, I personally have the greatest sympathy with the relatives of those who died,' said Commander Abdullah Akkram.
