Thief panicked and ran over policeman who shot at his van, Hong Kong court told
Sergeant clung to the outside of the vehicle as it sped away but fell off after opening fire, then fired three more times
A thief driving off with his haul suffered muscle cramp and panicked before running over a policeman who opened fire at him, a court was told yesterday.
Mau Fu-pong, 34, admitted earlier that he drove over Sergeant Alex But Po-hung’s right leg with the van in Hung Hom on January 12 when the officer fired four shots to stop him escaping.
Pleading for a lenient sentence for Mau, barrister William Allan told the District Court his client became frightened after But fired his first shot.
“The natural reaction was to panic and get into great fear,” the barrister said, explaining why Mau failed to stop the van despite repeated requests.
Mau, he added, also told the police when giving evidence at the police station that he suffered a cramp during the dramatic incident.
The driver pleaded guilty earlier to two counts of theft for stealing a range of items including a bundle of newspapers worth HK$868 and vehicle speakers valued at HK$800.
