The Taoyuan District Court yesterday found 13 military officials guilty of abuse of power and sentenced them to between three and eight months in prison for the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).
The verdict sparked an angry protest from the Hung family, who condemned the sentences as being too light.
The 24-year-old Hung collapsed from heatstroke after drill exercises on July 3 last year and died in hospital a day later, just three days before he was due to be discharged from his compulsory military service.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Members of the Hung family who were in court to listen to the ruling yesterday afternoon said they would file an appeal with the Taiwan High Court.
Hung’s mother and his sister, Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸), cried out upon hearing the decision.
“One life only costs a six-month sentence. No one was found responsible for the incident,” Hung’s mother later said outside the courthouse.
“We want to voice our disapproval. The government and the defense ministry is black-hearted and this is a dark day for justice. The verdict is unacceptable,” Hung’s uncle, Hu Shih-ho (胡世和), told reporters while giving the thumbs-down sign, as some supporters shouted “unfair justice.”
The ruling found 13 of the 18 defendants guilty, while the remaining five were acquitted.
Former company commander Major Hsu Shin-cheng (徐信正) of the 542nd Brigade was sentenced to eight months in prison for abusing his authority to confine Hung Chung-chiu.
Former commander of the 542nd Brigade Major General Shen Wei-chih (沈威志), former deputy commander Colonel Ho Chiang-chung (何江忠), vice company director Captain Liu Yen-chun (劉延俊), First Sergeant Chen Yi-jen (陳以人) and Staff Sergeant Fan Tso-hsien (范佐憲) were all sentenced to six months in prison on the same charge.
Staff Sergeant Chen Yi-hsun (陳毅勳) of the 269th Brigade, who oversaw Hung Chung-chiu’s punishment while in confinement, was sentenced to six months in prison. The sentenced can be commuted to a fine.
Sergeant Lo Chi-yuan (羅濟元) and three others were found guilty of charges of death caused by professional negligence and each given five months in prison. Corporal Lee Nien-tsu (李念祖) received a six-month sentence for the same charge. The five sentences for negligence can be commuted to fines.
First Lieutenant Kao Yu-lung (郭毓龍) was sentenced to three months in prison on charges of abuse of authority by confining the army conscript.
Hung Chung-chiu’s death sparked major protests, as the military dragged its feet in investigating the conscript’s death.
Military prosecutors indicted 18 senior officers and non-commissioned officers over the incident.
Public pressure also eventually led to an amendment to the Code of Court Martial Procedure (軍事審判法) in August last year that put civilian courts and prosecutors in charge of military criminal cases. The Hung case was subsequently transferred from the Military High Court to the Taoyuan District Court.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS