The Shilin District Court yesterday found event organizer Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉) guilty of professional negligence in causing deaths in the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙樂園) water park disaster on June 27 last year, sentencing him to four years and 10 months in prison.
The ruling, the first verdict on the disaster, sparked furious reactions from people affected by the inferno, who said the sentence was too lenient considering the enormity of the catastrophy.
Fifteen people of the 508 injured in the blaze that swept through a Color Play Asia party at the park died as a result of their injuries. More than 200 sustained serious injuries, and many of them are still in pain, fighting for recovery and requiring medical treatment and daily rehabilitation work.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Most of those who sustained injuries were between the ages of 18 and 25, when they attended the event organized by Lu, proprietor of Color Play Co (玩色創意) and Juipo International Marketing Co (瑞博國際整合行銷), who rented out facilities at the park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里).
Lu did not appear in court for yesterday’s ruling.
His lawyer, Chen Chun-wei (陳君瑋), said “the sentence was too heavy.”
Photo: CNA
“After receiving the official court statement, I will discuss it with Lu. We will certainly appeal this decision,” Chen said.
A group of about 50 people, members of a self-help association, along with relatives and supporters, demonstrated outside the Shilin District Court in Taipei, while some attended the court session to hear the ruling.
They held up banners that read: “We Want Justice” and placards that demanded that the judiciary investigate possible negligence on the part of the New Taipei City Government and the company that owns the water park.
Lee Meng-hsiu (李孟修), who sustained second and third-degree burns to more than 70 percent of his body and is still fighting to recover, said the sentence was far too lenient.
“I felt heavy-hearted when I heard the ruling. I am disappointed at Taiwan’s justice system,” he said.
The father of Liu Chih-wei (劉致葦), who died in the disaster, said he was “disgusted” by the ruling.
“Lu is responsible for the deaths of 15 young people and more than 400 injured people, but for 15 lives, he only got less than a five-year term. In our nation, human lives seem to be worth less than dogs’,” he said.
“I will be talking to our lawyers. We must appeal, because we want justice to be served,” he said.
Association for Victims Support in Taiwan executive Wang Yu-hsiu (王鈺琇) said the nation’s judiciary too often gives convicted criminals light punishments.
“Lu only has to serve a few years in jail, then he will be free, but who will bear the burden for more than 400 young people’s lifetime of pain and stigma after being disfigured by burns?” Wang said.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare data, 281 of the victims sustained burns that covered more than 40 percent of their bodies, including 41 people with burns to more than 80 percent of their bodies.
Three people were still hospitalized as of Monday, the ministry said.
As of December last year, the National Health Insurance program had paid more than NT$800 million (US$24.72 million) to cover the medical costs of burn patients from the disaster, the ministry said.
The National Health Insurance Administration has filed a lawsuit with the Shilin District Court to demand compensation of NT$436 million — the costs incurred during the first month after the accident — from Lu.
Additional reporting by CNA
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS