Hong Kong — Hong Kong star Mat Yeung appeared in court on Nov 4 and was convicted of driving under the influence (DUI). Yeung, 40 was sentenced to 18 days jail time, suspension of his driving license for two years and a fine of 3,000 Chinese yuan (SGD643).
The actor’s eyes grew red while his girlfriend Lisa Chong burst into tears upon hearing the sentence. Yeung was arrested for DUI in August 2020 after crashing into two curb barriers in the Mid Levels.
He refused to take the breathalyzer test and claimed that he was sick. As he was sent to the hospital, he was walking with unsteady steps and had to lean onto two officers for support. The judge pointed out during the sentencing at Eastern Law Courts on Nov 4 that although there was no data available on Yeung’s alcohol concentration, the actor was visibly intoxicated and had completely lost control of his vehicle.
The judge pointed out that with the actor’s past record of drunk driving, Yeung disregarded the safety of others and has not changed his conduct. According to the judge, a community service order and probation were unsuitable for this case. Yeung’s defence lawyer claimed that the actor had lost a job opportunity valued at 1 million Chinese yuan (SGD200,000) due to the trial case but the judge said that the actor “caused his own plight.”
The judge stated that the starting point for sentencing was 30 days of jail time. The jail time was reduced to 18 days given the actor’s petition that he was the breadwinner in the household and that his salary has been suspended since last December due to his inability to film dramas and a movie, as reported by Jayne Stars.
Later on Yeung paid 30,000 Chinese yuan (SGD6,000) and did not have to immediately serve his jail time. At 5:39 p.m., Mat and his girlfriend were seen stepping out of the courthouse. Approximately 30 reporters were waiting outside and asked the actor whether he felt he had received a fair sentence, but Yeung refused to answer and quickly left in his car.
It was expected that the actor would receive a harsher sentence as it was his second DUI offence. His drinking habit had already led to several arrests in the past. He was arrested for DUI in the Jordan district in 2005. Yeung was then sentenced to pay a fine and his license was suspended for a year.
A year later, the intoxicated actor was arrested for attacking a security guard and later breaking items in a convenience store. At the time, he was sentenced to 150 hours of community service.
In addition, Yeung had received speeding tickets and violations for driving while using his mobile phone./TISG