A Hong Kong court has sentenced a tram driver to four weeks in prison for careless driving after his vehicle fatally hit 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 – who was found guilty earlier this month – 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 noting that he had twice won the “best driver” award during his five years of service.
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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.
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Evidence showed that the grandfather had carried the girl with one arm and held her sister’s hand as they waited on a traffic island. Security footage revealed that they had taken a step forward despite the pedestrian signal being red.
While Li said he had stopped the vehicle once he realised the tram had struck the pedestrians, Chung found the driver had not paid enough attention to road conditions on a rainy day and did not brake in time.