Lanlan Yang, the 23-year-old Chinese woman accused of driving a $1.5m Rolls-Royce SUV that crashed into a car driven by George Plassaras, a chauffeur for radio host Kyle Sandilands, has been granted more time to decide on her plea after additional charges were laid.
Yang appeared via her solicitor, John Korn, at Downing Centre local court on Friday. The court confirmed a new charge of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, while the initial charge of causing bodily harm by misconduct has been withdrawn. Yang now faces a total of four charges, including dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and failing to provide police with her details.
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 stressed that a plea must be entered at the next mention.
The crash occurred on 26 July in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Yang was initially charged with causing bodily harm by misconduct and refusing to submit to a breath test. She has been on bail and is required to report to the police station weekly.
Yang’s case has drawn significant media attention due to her apparent wealth. At her first court mention in August, about 100 members of the Chinese Australian community queued outside. The second mention earlier this month attracted a dozen Chinese Australians, including international students and Chinese-language media.
