Botany pedestrian death: Manslaughter trial scheduled for motorist accused of killing Miaoyuan Liang

The defendant pleaded not guilty to mansalughter today in the High Court at Auckland. Photo / NZME

A motorist accused of causing the death of a 70-year-old pedestrian in South Auckland almost exactly a year ago has been assigned a trial date.

The 45-year-old, who continues to have interim name suppression, appeared in the High Court at Auckland for the first time today as defence lawyer Panama Le’au’anae entered a not guilty plea on his behalf for manslaughter.

Justice Mathew Downs set a trial date for next August. It is slated to last three weeks.

Authorities allege the man caused the death of Miaoyuan Liang after a crash in Botany near the intersection of Cascades and Botany Rds.

The crash occurred around 12.25pm on September 10 last year, and the woman died five days later at Auckland City Hospital.

But it would be another 11 months before police filed the criminal charge. He first appeared in Manukau District Court last month before the matter was transferred to the High Court.

Detective Senior Sergeant Rob Hunkin said last month that a police investigation had been ongoing into the circumstances of the incident.

If convicted of manslaughter, the defendant could face up to life imprisonment.

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.