The District Court of Hong Kong heard the case of Lau Chi-shing, 29, a truck driver who continued a journey despite knowing his vehicle had brake problems and was the cause of a six-vehicle collision last year that left 16 people injured. Lau Chi-shing pleaded guilty to one count of causing grievous bodily harm by dangerous driving for the traffic accident that occurred at Tseung Kwan O Road on April 8th last year.

“Having realized that there appeared to be a problem with the brakes, the defendant chose to continue with his journey. The way that the defendant drove fell far below what would be expected of a competent and careful driver ” prosecutor Lam Shun-chiu said in court yesterday.

The truck that Lau was driving was attached to a cement-mixer that weighed 30.54 tonnes. The truck, which could take a maximum weight of 30 tonnes, was hence overloaded, Lam told the court.

After the accident, Lau admitted to police that he had noticed there was a problem with the truck’s braking system while driving through Hang Hau – about 5.5 kilometres from the scene of the accident that day, but it did not occur to him to stop driving. Rather, he continued with his journey, thinking he would inform the truck owner of the brake problem only after the trip, he said.

Judge Pang Chung-ping adjourning sentencing for Lau to today.