Police inspector given community service for dangerous driving that left pedestrian with fractured leg

An off-duty police inspector has been sentenced to 240 hours of community service for dangerous driving causing serious bodily harm after running a red light and causing a collision that left a female pedestrian with an open leg fracture.

The incident occurred in June two years ago on Nathan Road in Mong Kok.

The officer, Iu San-san, 30, who was a probationary driver at the time, drove through a red light and collided with the side of a taxi. The impact sent the taxi veering out of control, striking the woman and causing a severe open fracture to her right leg.

Iu was convicted of the charge and sentenced on Monday at the District Court. In addition to the community service order, Magistrate Raymond Wong Kwok-fai also disqualified him from driving for two years and ordered him to complete a driver improvement course at his own expense.

During the sentencing hearing, the defense revealed that Iu, formerly of the East Kowloon Regional Crime Unit, had received letters of support from nearly 90 percent of his superiors, including Chief Inspectors, Superintendents, and Senior Inspectors, who attested to his exemplary work performance within the force.

The defense counsel argued that the plea was not made to evade responsibility and urged the court to recognize his client's genuine remorse, stating, "We hope the court will seriously consider that a community service order is an appropriate sentence in these special circumstances."