A 29-year-old former surveyor who drove a retired police car with flashing red and blue lights from Tsuen Wan to Kowloon Bay while speeding and imitating an officer was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
Harrison Li Kin-wai pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, falsely pretending to be a public officer, driving an unlicensed vehicle, and driving a vehicle without third-party insurance. A charge of forging a document was dropped.
On a late night last May, Li drove the decommissioned police car at high speed along Tsuen Wan, Lung Cheung Road, and to the Kowloon Bay area for about seven minutes with emergency lights activated and a visible police insignia.
The court heard other drivers had to brake sharply to avoid him twice.
The Acting Principal Magistrate May Chung Ming-sun described impersonating a police officer as the most serious offense.
He rejected claims of momentary impulse or intent to warn speeding drivers, noting the act could prompt real offenders to flee, cause confusion among road users, or divert genuine police resources.
Had an accident occurred, it could have been severe; only luck prevented harm.
The starting point for impersonation was 15 weeks’ custody, reduced to 10 weeks for a guilty plea.
For dangerous driving and driving an unlicensed vehicle, the court found Li repeatedly sped, raced informally with five preceding cars in a group, showed off, and lacked third-party insurance due to no test plate.
These offenses warranted an uplift, resulting in six weeks’ imprisonment, a one-year driving ban, and a mandatory driving improvement course. The no-insurance offense drew a HK$1,000 fine.
All prison terms run concurrently. Considering Li’s clean record, frank admission, job loss as a surveyor, and shift to running an auto parts business without other criminal motive, the magistrate suspended the 10-week sentence for 18 months.
