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.

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.

The dude was definitely DRUNK, at 5 x the legal limit.

People like him don't need to be banned from driving !

They need to be banned from drinking for life !!!

and they should start a law about this ... even if its not really enforceable !!!!

well, they did fit Lindsay Lohan with a bracelet that gives an alert to an outside company everytime she has alcohol (which is why she went back to jail), so i think the technology is there, but may be prohibitive to use for all.

He is hardly Australian.  He is born in Hong Kong and studies in California.  How is that an Australian student? Just because he holds a passport from 1 of his parents?  

Strange how he has 3 citizenships and they pick Australian even though he doesn't even study there or probably been there before.

The Standard called him an American student. I guess it depends on the reporter as to which nationality he is. I heard the chinese news just called him a foreign student

Everyone reacts to alcohol differently. Some people define alcoholism as prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health. This is usually the peaceful type, the ones that drink themselves to death and prefers to drink alone. The other type of alcoholic is like this student. Once intoxicated some people react in a violent and abusive manner, totally out of control. Not everyone reacts to alcohol this way but once they drink they are like Dr. Jackyll Mr Hyde. It's a sort of an allergy and if a person has this condition should avoid drinking at all costs. The fact that this kid showed no remorse, that is unforgivable and when he is released from prison he will continue to drink and again be destructive. He just doesn't see what he did was wrong. Drinking for him is all wrong and I hope he starts to realize this when doing time in prison.

[ Last edited by  geoduck at 30-10-2010 14:50 ]

he and his parents keep saying he is not guilty........ the judge should give him a more heavy penalty.

Yes, the worst thing about this fucking idiot is not that he killed someone when he was drunk, it's his arrogant denial of any responsibility! If you did something wrong then you learned your lesson, paid your prize and move on. Instead he and his parent think that he's not responsible for his own action when he's drunk, that it was the fault of the driver to pick him up (it's against the law for not picking up passenger) and started an argument with him!!! His shameless father said the conviction rate here is over 90% implying that he was convicted because of the jurisdiction system in HK! How low can you possibly get??? I wish him got sodomize by a drunken fellow one day, then he will realize one should be responsible for his own action!

It's understandable that his parents did not want him to go to prison. The problem is his whole family are cunts of the biggest order. Who by their actions prove themselves to be utter cunts. I was spam emailed his website in 2009. I was even more surprised that many expat sites automaticaly assumed he was innocent and was stitched up too,

His website effectively said he had been stitched up by the HK police and government and it was racism which was the reason he was arrested. That the car moving off the second time was due to a slight incline. All which were total lies and was rescinded once the footage came out.

Then the TVB videos came out showing him totally off his head, AND the taxi engine revving before going UP a hill. Then he conveniently forgot.


Its almost impossible to overturn such convictions which is why he is so pissed, because it was a full jury trial. A judge only trial you can worm out of jury trials are the gold standard (assumed) and thus are nearly impossible to overturn.

[ Last edited by  Kennichi at 30-10-2010 14:15 ]

It would be nice if he's taught a lesson by other inmates in prison but this isn't gonna happen. HK prisons are pretty sane and boring, not like the movies you see about these US State Penitentiaries. No, I was never incarcerated in HK myself but know a few JP's who tell me stories about life inside.

This guy and his family are total fucking cunts. They don't seem to realize that he KILLED someone due due his being drunk and irresponsible. How can they possibly feel that he's innocent?

I think the sentence is too light, especially for HK prison. To me a more appropriate punishment would be 6 years (minimum) in a US, federal "get-pounded-in-the-ass" prison.

Agree with what you said. If you heard what his father said in front of TV, you would get mad.

They are applying appeal, so hope he will get a more heavy sentence.

[ Last edited by  haroldla at 31-10-2010 04:09 ]

agreed with barney, this guy should be sent to the get pounded in you ass real prision for at least 6 years for what he did.  the lack of remorse what does him in.  4.5 years is not that bad for getting away with negligent murder

family is a bunch of pricks.

Spending summer volunteering for charities?

I call bs

Should be given the benefit of the doubt?

He did get the benefit of the doubt - he should have gotten longer.

you're flooding again. you're not making any sense. if the family is appealing, it is to have a lighter sentence, not heavier