HONG KONG - AN AUSTRALIAN man has been charged with murder in the death of a Hong Kong taxi driver after the cab they were in crashed, possibly following a fight between the two men, officials and media said on Monday.
The 22-year-old was arrested on Saturday after the taxi jumped the road divide and collided with three oncoming cabs, police said in a statement.
Kelsey Michael Mudd appeared in a Hong Kong court on Monday to face one count of murder, a court document from Hong Kong's judiciary showed. He is a student at an American university, the document said.
Hong Kong newspaper South China Morning Post earlier reported there had been a dispute between Mudd and the taxi driver before the crash. The driver died in hospital hours after the accident.
Footage from local broadcaster TVB aired on Saturday showed Mudd sitting in the front passenger's seat of a taxi with his face covered in blood after the crash. He then moved to the driver's seat while a paramedic was treating him and sped off in the taxi - headed in the wrong direction - and hit another cab head-on.
He appeared unsteady when he was ordered out of the taxi by police following the second crash.
Mudd was not required to make a plea in court Monday. He was remanded in custody until he is due to reappear in court on July 27 pending further investigations.
If convicted, Mudd faces a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment. -- AP
