Public prosecutors in Taipei yesterday indicted Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉) over the inferno at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park on June 27, which resulted in 12 deaths and nearly 500 suffering burns.
The Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office charged Lu with professional negligence resulting in death and professional negligence causing bodily harm.
The office did not indict Formosa Fun Coast water park chairman Chen Po-ting (陳柏廷), general manager Chen Hui-ying (陳慧潁) or administrative director Lin Yu-fen (林玉芬).
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Prosecutors also did not indict five other individuals who were summoned for questioning during the investigation, all of whom are employees of event promoter Juipo International Marketing Co (瑞博國際整合行銷): manager Chou Hung-wei (周宏瑋); hardware technician Chiu Po-ming (邱柏銘); special effects technician Liao Chun-ming (廖俊明); and Shen Hao-jan (沈浩然) and Lu Chien-yu (廬建佑), who were responsible for operating equipment at the event.
An explosion of powder and the resulting inferno were caused by dense concentrations of sprayed cornstarch that came into contact with the incandescent bulbs used for stage lighting, which had a surface temperature of more than 400oC, the indictment cited fire department investigators as saying.
The three water park executives were not indicted because the cause of the explosion had nothing to do with the park’s firefighting and safety equipment, Deputy Chief Prosecutor Chen Hsi-chu (陳錫柱) said, adding that the park had passed a facility safety and emergency service inspection by New Taipei City Government agencies.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Furthermore, Lu had a rental agreement with the water park’s proprietors, in which he rented the swimming pool and surrounding areas for the Color Play Asia party, which took place after the park’s standard business hours.
“As it was a rental agreement to use parts of the premises, there was no splitting of the event’s profit and no business relationship exists between Lu’s company and the park’s proprietors,” Chen said.
According to the terms of the rental agreement, Lu was responsible for maintaining public safety, and onsite firefighting and safety equipment, which absolved Formosa Fun Coast’s proprietors of blame, the prosecutors said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Eighty-six people sustained serious burns and 383 received less-serious injuries, prosecutors said, adding that 16 of them were foreign nationals from the US, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, China, Macau or Hong Kong.
“Due to the defendant’s actions and negligence, the event ended with a significant number of fatalities and injuries. Therefore, we are requesting severe punishment in this case,” the prosecutors said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
RSS