Chiayi prosecutors yesterday launched a criminal investigation into the Pachang Creek incident to decide whether officials were guilty of negligence or manslaughter.
If found guilty of negligence, public officials could face anywhere between three and 10 years imprisonment, according to the Criminal Code.
Meanwhile, a demerit was handed down to 13 ministers including Director of the National Fire Administration Chen Horng-i (陳弘毅), Director-General of National Police Administration Ting Yuan-chin (丁原進) and the Ministry of National Defense's war command deputy, Major General Chung Shen-ning (鍾申寧).
"The focus of our investigation will be why was there a delay? Was there enough time to carry out a rescue during the delay? Also, to determine if the delay constitutes a criminal offense, if it is found officials failed to launch a rescue attempt?" said Tseng Ming-fung (
The State Public Prosecutor General Lu Jen-fa (
Lu said that governmental officials could be found guilty of an offense under a law related to the "public official's negligence of duties, thereby causing catastrophes."
But Lu stressed he would not interfere in the investigation.
Tseng said another possible charge was manslaughter by neglect of official duties, which carries imprisonment of less than five years.
Led by Tseng, three Chiayi prosecutors yesterday visited Chiayi's air force base, the base of the airborne police in Taichung and the Chiayi Fire Department. They also spoke with eyewitnesses.
Tseng said inconsistencies between the reports of the different units needed to be checked.
An airborne police rescue helicopter was dispatched from Taichung, but investigators discovered it turned back as the pilot was told the workers had already been swept away by the torrent.
The air force says that according to regulations it was not their responsibility to carry out rescue efforts below 2,500m above sea level.
Asked if this regulation exempted the air force from criminal charges for not dispatching a helicopter, Tseng said the matter still needed to be examined.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
An Emirates flight from Dubai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport yesterday afternoon, the first service of the airline since the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Saturday. Flight EK366 took off from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at 3:51am yesterday and landed at 4:02pm before taxiing to the airport’s D6 gate at Terminal 2 at 4:08pm, data from the airport and FlightAware, a global flight tracking site, showed. Of the 501 passengers on the flight, 275 were Taiwanese, including 96 group tour travelers, the data showed. Tourism Administration Deputy Director-General Huang He-ting (黃荷婷) greeted Taiwanese passengers at the airport and
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS