A driver in Shanghai has received a 10-month suspended prison sentence for striking and killing a pedestrian while using his mobile phone.

This is the first time a Shanghai court has pursued criminal responsibility in a traffic accident blamed on disruption by an electronic device.

On the evening of December 20, 2016, the accused surnamed Gu was driving in Shanghai’s Chongming district. When he lowered his head and looked at his cellphone, he hit the victim surnamed Huang.

Gu, who pled guilty, was fully accountable for Huang’s death, the court ruled on Thursday. In consideration of Gu's voluntary surrender to the police, and his willingness to compensate the victim's family, the court gave him a 10-month suspended sentence with a year's probation. 

According to Shanghai news website Eastday, Gu said during the trial, “I feel very sorry for Huang. I never thought my behavior of looking at a mobile phone could cause death, devastating a family.”

Shanghai has been cracking down on people using phones while driving. The city government prohibited phone use behind the wheel on March 25 this year, and has installed more surveillance cameras on roads.

Judge Qu Xiang said that even though Gu’s crash took place before the new regulation came into effect, it was important to set an example to warn the public against dangerous driving.

According to Ministry of Public Security data cited by the Global Times, 9 percent of Chinese drivers look at their phones while driving and 55 percent play on their phones at traffic lights or in traffic jams.