A not-Jimmy Lai court case

Hong Kong has just been through a ‘water-gate’ scandal, which I have ignored out of laziness/boredom. Full details here. A few questions… Why don’t civil servants want to drink the ordinary tap water that their employer, the government, says is perfectly fine for consumption? Why would these civil servants reject bottled water that they believe is from a Mainland supplier, when they are constantly urged to be patriotic? And what sort of repercussions, if any, will there be for senior officials responsible for the tendering process, which resulted in a contract going to a fake supplier? (Apparently a Hong Kong business pretending to be a Mainland one – don’t ask.)

Which leads us to a police inspector who was given a community service order for ‘causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving’ after running a red light in Mong Kok, hitting a taxi and causing serious injury to a pedestrian…

Concerning Iu’s argument that he got distracted because he was thinking about a drug case he was working on, the judge said no driver should lose concentration thinking about work or personal matters while driving.

The Witness reported on Monday that the police said Iu had been suspended. The police force added that it values the conduct of its personnel and that any officer involved in illegal behaviour would not be tolerated.

The SCMP has some more details…

The inspector, who received his probationary driving licence four months before the accident, told the trial that he had mistaken a green pedestrian light for the traffic light while being distracted by a narcotics case he was investigating at the time.

…The defence submitted mitigation letters written by senior police officers and said Iu deserved a second chance for his good background.

Selwyn Yu Sing-cheung SC said “over 90 per cent” of Iu’s senior colleagues had pleaded leniency on his behalf, noting that he was enthusiastic about his job and was genuinely sorry for the breach despite his not guilty plea.

Yu argued that a jail term would be disproportionate and devastating to his client, who had learned a bitter lesson after spending 32 days in custody pending the sentence.

[Deputy District Judge Raymond] Wong echoed those submissions and said Iu had a good background and excellent track record in the force. Pre-sentencing reports also showed the defendant was very remorseful, the deputy judge added.

Dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm is punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment, a HK$50,000 (US$6,310) fine and a driving ban of at least two years.

More questions… Can the rest of the public avoid a prison sentence for dangerous driving if they are distracted by a narcotics case? What if they are distracted by something else important to them (a sales target at work, illness of a family member, etc)? Can everyone expect leniency if 90% of their senior colleagues tell the court he or she is enthusiastic about their job? Can other people before the courts (for shoplifting, participation in primary elections, zombie oil-possession, etc) avoid prison if they argue that ‘a jail term would be disproportionate and devastating’? Or that they are ‘very remorseful’? Is there a danger that the public might think judges treat cops leniently? 

See also the unconditional release a few days ago  of a customs officer who ‘tampered with’ a motorbike, resulting in the death of the driver.