A Hong Kong court handed down a four-week jail sentence to a tram driver earlier convicted for careless driving that killed a three-year-old girl and injured three others, with the punishment significantly reduced due to the accident being deemed “inevitable”.
Deputy Magistrate Chung Wing-sze of Eastern Court on Tuesday cited a probation officer’s report that 50-year-old Li Yaodong was genuinely remorseful and had accepted legal responsibility.
Chung also said the defendant’s colleagues had petitioned for leniency, praising him as “dedicated to his work” and pointing to him twice winning the “best driver” award during his five years of service.
The accident took place outside Kennedy Town Swimming Pool on the morning of August 15, 2024. Li’s tram struck the girl, her six-year-old sister, their grandfather and the family’s helper as they were crossing Des Voeux Road West.
The girl was found unconscious under the tram and later pronounced dead in hospital.
Evidence showed that the grandfather carried the girl with one arm and held the hand of her sister as they waited at a traffic island. Security footage indicated that they took a step forward despite a red light being on.
While Li said he had already stopped the vehicle after realising that the tram had struck the pedestrians, Chung found the driver did not pay enough attention to road conditions on a rainy day and did not brake in time.
