Taxi driver jailed after ketamine-driving conviction
SingTao · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago4 MIN
Summary
A 54-year-old taxi driver, Lee Kim-man (李劍文), was sentenced at Kwun Tong Magistrates' Courts to four months in jail and a five-year driving ban after pleading guilty to driving with ketamine in his body. The case stemmed from a police stop in Ngau Tau Kok on June 5, 2026, when officers found his taxi swerving and travelling unusually slowly while displaying an available-for-hire sign.
Key Points
- Acting Principal Magistrate Li Chi-ho said imprisonment was unavoidable because Lee had a similar previous conviction and reports did not recommend admission to a drug addiction treatment centre.
- Lee, who was unrepresented and conducted his own case, admitted one count of driving a motor vehicle with any concentration of a specified illicit drug in his body.
- Police on patrol along Wai Yip Street in Ngau Tau Kok stopped the taxi after seeing it weave from side to side and move abnormally slowly that morning.
- Officers found Lee dazed and slow to respond, and both his oral fluid and blood samples later tested positive for ketamine.
- Under caution, Lee said he had taken ketamine a week before the incident and had used the drug about once a month for five to six years.
Why It Matters
The case involved a taxi that was actively available for hire, meaning the driver was operating a public-service vehicle while impaired by a specified drug. The sentence also took into account Lee's 15 previous convictions, including one similar offence, and five traffic convictions, underscoring the court's view that a custodial term was necessary.