Prosecutors sought 14 months in prison on Tuesday for a 44-year-old Chinese national accused of driving without a license in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, while he was serving a suspended sentence for a hit-and-run that injured four children.
The sentencing hearing was held at the Saitama District Court's Koshigaya branch, presided over by Judge Atsushi Suzuki, the Sankei Shimbun reported. The defendant, Deng Hongpeng, a demolition worker living in Misato, is charged with violating the Road Traffic Act.
According to the indictment, Deng drove a passenger car on roads in the city between May and June without a license from the public safety commission.
Prosecution and defense
Prosecutors called the offenses habitual and brazen, saying he drove unlicensed three times in just two weeks without regard for who might see him. They cited a severe lack of respect for rules, the absence of genuine remorse and no appropriate supervisor, and asked for a prison term.
The defense argued that Deng is a foreign national and that responsibility for misunderstandings of traffic law should not rest entirely with him. His lawyers asked for a suspended sentence with probation.
Deng was convicted in November last year over the hit-and-run, in which he drove while drunk and injured four elementary school boys.