Lanlan Yang, the wealthy Chinese woman accused of crashing a Rolls-Royce SUV into a car driven by Kyle Sandilands' driver, has asked for more time to decide on a plea after additional charges were laid. The 23-year-old appeared via her solicitor at Downing Centre local court on Friday.
Yang was initially charged with causing bodily harm by misconduct and failing to submit to a breath test, but now faces charges including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, failing to provide police with details, and negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm. The original charge of causing bodily harm by misconduct has been withdrawn.
Her solicitor, John Korn, told the court that the defence needed more time to discuss the matter with Yang, as they were only notified of all charges this week. The acting deputy registrar granted the delay but insisted Yang must enter a plea at the next mention.
The crash occurred on 26 July in Sydney's eastern suburbs, when Yang allegedly drove a $1.5m Rolls-Royce SUV head-on into a car driven by George Plassaras. Yang has been on bail for her initial charges, with conditions including weekly reporting to a police station.
The case has drawn significant media attention, with large crowds of Chinese Australian supporters attending previous court mentions. Korn confirmed the court excused Yang from attending on Friday, and he will now discuss the plea with her.
