Drink-drivers who kill could get life in jail
Drivers who kill while under the influence of alcohol may be charged with manslaughter, Secretary for Justice Wong Yan-lung has said.
Mr Wong was responding to an inquiry by lawmaker Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee, who represents the legal sector, in the days following a horrific accident at Lok Ma Chau in which six men died.
Ms Ng was reacting to the public outcry over a series of drink-driving accidents and calls for tougher punishment. Manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
The driver of the truck has been charged with dangerous driving causing death. He was reported to have returned a breath alcohol reading four times over the legal limit.
Without mentioning the Lok Ma Chau tragedy, Mr Wong wrote in reply to Ms Ng that the option of charging drink-drivers with manslaughter was an option open to prosecutors.
'The most appropriate charge is always selected,' he said. 'Whether a manslaughter charge can be laid depends on whether the evidence so supports it.'
He noted that the Court of Appeal had previously said the consumption of alcohol should be treated as an aggravating factor when judges sentence people found guilty of dangerous driving causing death. The penalty for that charge was raised to 10 years last year.
Mr Wong rejected public calls for the penalty to be increased even further because 'the efficacy, or otherwise, of this measure has yet to be fully tested'.
Ms Ng welcomed his response, saying that drink-driving would easily fit into the definition of gross negligence needed for a manslaughter charge.
'You have a duty to take care of the other users of the road,' she said. 'In a case where you have drunk alcohol and you have driven at great speed and killed someone, I don't think a jury properly instructed would have too much difficulty in delivering a guilty verdict.'
She stressed she was not referring to any particular case, but she wanted to remind people that a manslaughter charge was an option.
Ian Foster, honorary secretary of the Hong Kong Automobile Association and chairman of the Classic Bike Club, said penalties needed to be strengthened so that people would not even consider drink-driving.
'There are so many statistics to show that a car in the hands of a person under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a lethal weapon that the law really needs to create a major deterrent,' he said. 'Someone driving their car into town for a night out has to be made to think, 'No way. Either I'm not going to drink, or I'm not going to get into that car'.'
He likened drink-driving to playing with a loaded gun.
'If you get drunk and accidentally kill someone while you're playing around with a firearm, you will be prosecuted for manslaughter. It's the same thing as getting behind the wheel while you're drunk and then killing someone. People need to be held accountable for their actions.'
