Posted by
SSasiaxpat
15 yrs ago
I was involved in a car accident and have to go and make a statement to the Police this week. I was a driver of one of the vehicles.
I am told the interview will be in Chinese with an interpreter.
Does anyone know if this is normal and whether I can ask for it to be all done in English? Will it be recorded or written down in Chinese or English?
Would appreciate any advice if someone has also been through this.
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I am pretty certain you can ask for it to be done in English, providing you give advance notice. After all English is still one of the official languages of Hong Kong. You definitely don't want it done with a Chinese speaking person trying to write your statement.
If it goes to court then you do have to ask for the proceedings to be in English.
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Pretty standard stuff. The police always prefer an interpreter there just to make sure. They will ask questions and write out the statement. You'll be asked to check it as well and sign it and that's all there is too it.
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[UPDATE] Please note that fee quotes stated in historic postings may be out-of-date.
We suggest a HK$2,800 interview to go through the process you could potentially face (including a charge of careless driving).,…please contact Connie to arrange an interview with Mr. Weir (tel : 2526-1767).
Weir & Associates
Solicitors & Notaries
16th Floor Tak Shing House
Theatre Lane
20 Des Voeux Road Central
Central
Hong Kong
Tel : 2526-1767
Fax : 2868-3568
email : WeirLaw@weirandassociates.com
www.weirandassociates.com
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What you can do is write a statement at home take it with you and sign it at the police station.The translator will inform the police in chinese what its saying,the police always try to prosecute without taking legal advice themselves.Which is why I would advise you to get a good barrister to fight your corner and get the case dropped :)
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190k
15 yrs ago
If you were not at fault no need for lawyer. If it is a moinor accident then the most would be a careless driving summons. Plead Guilty and fine is about $800-1000 + 5 points. Ambulance chasers can cost more than the eventual fine
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It all depends if your guilty or not and proven by the courts and whos fighting your side.It maybe 5 points but bang go your no claims,a record against you and then the civil side when the injured party claim for damages which sometimes insurers dont or wont want to pay.If you have a strong case on your side get legal advice it could cost you more in the end.
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190k
15 yrs ago
You should not lose all your NCB if you are on 60% then you will go down to 40%. As I said for a minor accident. For serious accident then it is a whole different matter especially if you feel you are at fault or partly at fault
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Thanks to all for your responses. I have made the statement now in English and Chinese.
To comment on a few others comments, it was relatively minor, no injuries at all but the damage to my car is expensive to fix. I feel the other party is at fault here and the police seem to agree with that so far, so am hoping it all works out. I will be seeking legal advice if the police take this further and charge me with careless driving. On the insurance, I am told my NCD will go from 50 to 20% if the accident is judged to be my fault.
Thanks again!
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The only thing I would add here is that the silly statement process does take about 4 hours! Really, it does. Everything has to be translated both times both ways and it all laboriously signed top bottom and center by you, the cop, and the interpreter. It is possibly the stupidest waste of 4 hours of my life I have ever been party to. And this for a half page statement that took me 5 minutes to read! Really. And my accident has no injuries and no damage to either car. How's that?
My advice is to avoid it totally if at all possibly by always settling without cops. They will suck the hours out of your life with as many of these procedures as they can. Remember, they are at work, this is their job, and they love it. You are the only one being inconvenienced. They would take longer if they could.
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Yeah....agree with that. It takes a ridiculous amout of time for a statement less than a page long.
We did try and settle and the other party made an offer but it didn't even come close to covering my costs to we continued with the Police.
Thanks again.
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About a year ago a lorry verred across the road and badly damaged one side of my hubbys car the driver offered us 3000 HKD and we refused as we knew it would cost a lot more the police came and took statements and it was very obvious that it wasn't out fault. We took photos and did a written statement and awaited a date for us to go to court. The repairs to our car was 80 000HKD. After 3 months we changed our car and the insurance agreed to continue with the normal no claims bonus as the accident was clearly not our fault and we were still waiting a court hearing they also agreed from the photos and statements that iwe were not at fault. After 1 year we were still waiting a court hearing and my husband contacted the police asking them when we would have out court hearing and they never responded. When our insurance was due again to our shock the no claims bonus had been reduced a lot and when we enquired why the insurance company told us that they had a letter from the police informing them that there they had looked at the case again and that there it was a 'no fault' case. So it never went to court, it definately wasn't our fault they couldn't even be bothered to notify us and now we are paying a lot lot more for our insurance for something we were totally innocent of because the police couldn't be bothered to deal with the case.
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