A model-aircraft fan in Hong Kong was facing
a lawsuit Friday after crippling a fellow enthusiast by hitting him with a
remote-controlled helicopter, dpa reported.
Lo Kwok-wah, 46, was in a coma for months and is now confined
to a wheelchair after being hit on the head by the spinning rotor of a
1.5-metre-long model helicopter when it crashed into him in January last year.
The accident left a 20-centimetre gash in Lo's head and caused
brain damage that left him unable to move his left arm and leg, a court was
told Thursday.
Moments before the incident, Lo saw Chan Man-kin, 40, flying
the 6-kilogram model helicopter in a dangerous manner in a piece of parkland
where enthusiasts meet to fly.
Lo warned Chan to be more careful just before Chan lost
control of the helicopter, which careered into Lo's head, the hearing at Hong Kong's Kwun Tong Magistrates Court heard.
Chan, a baker, was found guilty at Thursday's hearing of the
rare charge of recklessly or negligently causing an aircraft to endanger a
person's property after lengthy legal arguments over whether the model
helicopter could be categorized as an aircraft.
Magistrate Jason Wan ruled that the Air Navigation Ordinance,
under which the charge was brought, extended to the model helicopter, which was
worth around 5,500 US dollars. Chan was fined 5,000 Hong Kong dollars (644 US
dollars) for the offence.
Speaking after the case, Lo, a model aircraft enthusiast for
18 years, said he was delighted with the outcome and planned to bring civil
proceedings against Chan for compensation.
Lo, a father of two, worked as a bus company operations
manager before the accident but had been forced to give up work because of his
injuries.
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