A Hong Kong father of three has been sentenced to five years’ imprisonment after he drunkenly beat a taxi driver, who later died from his injuries, for driving him to the wrong destination.
Yip Hon-ming, 27 pleaded guilty to one count of manslaughter in High Court yesterday.
On June 13, Yip attacked 55-year-old taxi driver Wong Loi-shing for getting lost while taking him home from celebrating his two-year-old daughter’s birthday, SCMP reports.
The 27-year-old noodle chef claimed he couldn’t remember what happened before the attack, as he was too drunk from the celebration.
“He woke up the next morning, covered in blood and clueless as to how the blood had got on him, or what had happened,” defence counsel Richard Donald said in mitigation.
Madam Justice Esther Loh accepted that Yip’s crime was not premeditated, but emphasised the seriousness of the “senseless tragedy” as the chef had continued to beat Wong despite intervention from bystanders.
On June 14, Wong told police that Yip, smelling of alcohol, had boarded his taxi in Tsim Sha Tsui East and asked to be taken to Fu Tai Estate before falling asleep.
When the cab arrived at the Tuen Mun estate, the 27-year-old apparently became angry, scolding Wong for getting lost and claiming he had asked to go to Tin Shui Wai.
Wong said Yip started punching him after he was asked to pay the fare, resulting in internal bleeding, bruises and abrasions to the driver’s face, chest and limbs. The 55-year-old’s skull was found to be fractured and his brain was significantly swollen, according to his autopsy.
Three days later, Wong died in a coma from his head injuries.
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