Minibus driver absent from fatal crash hearing, warrant issued
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
A driver accused over a fatal red public minibus crash outside Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts did not attend his first court hearing on August 13, prompting the court to issue an arrest warrant. In a separate case reported the same day, a green public minibus driver was jailed for nine months after being convicted of dangerous driving causing death in a Diamond Hill transport interchange crash.
Key Points
- Acting Principal Magistrate Cheng Nim-chi issued an arrest warrant after defendant Chiu Wai-kit, 48, a reported minibus driver, failed to appear at Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts
- Chiu faces one count of dangerous driving causing death and one count of dangerous driving causing grievous bodily harm over the June 28 crash outside 147 Argyle Street
- The prosecution alleges the public minibus was driven dangerously at the road outside Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts, causing the death of a man surnamed Ng and serious injury to a man surnamed Ho
- In the separate Diamond Hill case, a 68-year-old green minibus driver was convicted after trial over an August 2024 crash that killed a 47-year-old female pedestrian
- District Court Judge Yiu Fan-chi sentenced that driver to nine months' imprisonment, disqualified him from driving for five years, and ordered a driving improvement course
Why It Matters
The warrant means the Kowloon City case cannot move forward normally until the defendant is brought before the court, prolonging uncertainty for those affected by the fatal crash. The separate sentencing underlines the serious custodial and licensing consequences Hong Kong courts may impose in dangerous-driving death cases involving public transport vehicles