Lawmaker Judy Chan was on Monday fined HK$2,000 and disqualified from driving for one month after pleading guilty to careless driving.

The lawmaker was charged with careless driving after a video, which was circulated online in January, captured her driving against the flow of traffic in Wan Chai.

In handing down the sentence, magistrate Ko Wai-hung described Chan's offence as “serious” and “premeditated”, saying her decision to drive against the flow of traffic wasn't made in a split second and that the duration of her offence was not short.

He said the sentence had taken into account Chan’s clean criminal and traffic conviction records.

Speaking after attending the hearing, Chan said she regretted the incident and again apologised to the public.

“Since the incident occurred I have stopped driving. I also promised the [magistrate] that I won't offend again,” she said.

“I would also like to apologise to road users for causing any inconvenience.”

Chan said she would attend a driving improvement course despite not being required by the court to do so, adding that “although I might not drive again, but if I really need to drive again, I will only do so after completing the driving improvement course.”

She added that Legislative Council president Starry Lee had given her a verbal warning over the incident.

Lee, who’s in Beijing for the annual Two Sessions meetings, has said the Legislative Council's supervisory committee would issue a formal response after reviewing the case.


Edited by Tony Sabine