Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) yesterday visited the family of late Army Corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) and promised to find out the truth about his death earlier this month.
Hung Chung-chiu was serving in the 542nd Brigade in Hsinchu and was to be discharged on July 6.
On June 28, he was sent to the 269th Brigade in Taoyuan for disciplinary action because he brought a camera phone onto the base on June 23, in breach of regulations.
On the afternoon of July 3, he was let out of his cell to join a 45-minute routine training session with his fellow soldiers that included running, push-ups and sit-ups.
Hung told his supervisors that he felt “very sick” after the workout. He was sent to a hospital in Hsinchu County and later transferred to the Tri-Service General Hospital, where he died the next day.
Hung’s parents believe their son died from heat exhaustion.
Kao visited Hung’s family in Greater Taichung yesterday morning immediately after returning from a trip abroad.
“[My] son is gone,” Hung’s mother told Kao in tears.
Kao, who paid his respects in front of Hung’s coffin, tried to console the soldier’s family and vowed to look into the incident.
The minister conveyed President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) great sorrow and condolences over the tragedy to Hung’s family.
“This sad incident has taught us an important lesson,” Kao told reporters. “I have asked the armed forces to study the incident from the perspectives of the law, executive management, emergency treatment and other aspects.”
Meanwhile, the military has arranged for Hung’s autopsy to be conducted today by forensic expert Shih Tai-ping (石台平) of the Ministry of Justice’s Institute of Forensic Medicine.
The military announced it would punish 27 officers, including three-star Commander General Lee Hsiang-chou (李翔宙), over Hung’s death, and conduct further investigations into the matter.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan Medical Alliance for Labor Justice and Patient Safety (TMAL) panned the Ministry of National Defense for bringing a medical officer who had attended Huang before he was rushed to hospital before a military court on suspicion of negligent homicide.
The TMAL protested against what it called the “unreasonableness and thoughtlessness” of the ministry’s action.
The organization said it is dedicated “to ensuring the rights of all healthcare providers.”
The group said in the statement that the military has been practicing improper punitive measures for years and it is every family’s worst nightmare that their son is conscripted and does not return.
“We share the fury over the mistreatment that Hung was subjected to, and we support the arrest of his assailants by law enforcement agencies and any measures to correct the wrongs in the existing system to prevent similar incidents from happening again,” the statement said.
“However, the military chose to shirk its responsibility by attributing the death of the serviceman to a medical officer who is, like Hung, fulfilling his mandatory military service,” the group said.
According to the Chinese-language Apple Daily, the medical officer, surnamed Lu (呂), has made an appeal to the organization.
TMAL said the officer told it that he arrived at the confinement cell about five minutes after he was informed of Hung’s condition and arranged for hospitalization immediately after he found Hung unconscious due to heat stroke.
The ministry reportedly said that it had detained the medical officer not to accuse him of wrongdoing, but to “find out the truth” amid doubts over alleged delays in medical treatment and hospitalization.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS