Killer student 'lacks remorse'
Colleen Lee
Friday, October 29, 2010
Australian student Kelsey Lord Michael Mudd was sentenced yesterday to four years and three months in jail for causing the death of a taxi driver - with the judge criticizing him for showing no remorse.
A jury convicted Hong Kong-born Mudd, 23, of the manslaughter of Wong Chi-ming, 58, by a five to two majority in the Court of First Instance on Wednesday.
He was also unanimously found guilty of taking a vehicle without authority, dangerous driving and driving over the legal alcohol limit.
Mudd, who holds American, Australian and British citizenship, is a student at California State University.
Justice Alan Wright said the defendant's behavior after the collision showed he was "staggering drunk." His blood alcohol level was more than five times over the limit.
He said the student showed no remorse, regret or sorrow over the incident.
But he took into consideration that Mudd did not intend to drive on the night of the incident and is a young man still pursuing his studies.
In mitigation, Mudd's counsel, Christopher Young, said the defendant was only partly responsible. If Mudd had not been left alone in the taxi, the incident would not have happened, he argued.
"The defendant had no excuse for being drunk. His drunken state must have been evident to the driver, who nevertheless got out of the car," said Young, adding that "the defendant did not recollect what occurred."
He said Mudd did not intend to drive the vehicle when he got into the taxi as a passenger.
Mudd, wearing a black suit, showed little emotion after hearing the sentence.
The court heard that on June 27 last year, Mudd tried to seize control of the taxi from Wong on Connaught Road near City Hall in Central.
Wong tried to get out of the cab to pull Mudd out but was still strapped in by his seat belt. Wong was dragged as his taxi rammed into a metal fence dividing Connaught Road.
The vehicle hit two other taxis before stopping, and Wong was left lying in the road.
While paramedics were attending to him, Mudd suddenly drove off in the wrong direction, missing several oncoming cars before hitting another taxi.
Outside court, the eldest brother of the dead driver slammed the sentence as too light.
"I am furious. How could he be jailed for such a short period for killing my brother?" he said.
"He simply put the blame on my brother. As a taxi driver, he could not have refused to let [Mudd] get in the taxi."
The brother, also a night-shift taxi driver, said there were times when he met drunk passengers who tried to grab his wheel, and it was difficult to deal with such situations.
He said his brother had been a taxi driver for 30 years and is survived by his wife and two children in their late 20s.
Mudd's father, Michael Mudd, said: "I'm very disappointed with the outcome. We think there was enough confusion that night that nobody really knows what happened and that he was not given the benefit of the doubt."
He said he will consider all possible legal options.
Mudd's mother, Tasha White, said her son is sorry. "He's very sad about the taxi driver, what happened to him, but he has no memory of what happened," she said.
Mudd was spending the summer volunteering at a Hong Kong charity.
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