Typhoon victims awaiting justice

Taipei New Party City Councilor Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) yesterday lashed out at the city government for "shamelessly shirking responsibility" over an incident three years ago which claimed the lives of three members of a family in Tahu village (大湖山莊), Neihu District.

In the incident, city government employees were accused of failing to maintain drainage systems that could have prevented the flooding that led to the drowning of the three and caused extensive damage to the village.

As the family yesterday filed for the third time for state compensation, she also called upon the city government to grant their claim.

The city has previously told the family to wait for the High Court's ruling on the prosecution's appeals against four cleaning squad members of the city's Bureau of Environmental Protection (BEP, 環保局) acquitted at Shihlin District Court for negligently causing the deaths of the three.

Chen Ching-show (陳清秀), director of the city government's Rules and Regulations Commission (法規會), told Huang after the press conference at which Huang made her attack that the commission will look into the matter closely.

Huang likened the tragedy to that of the Pachang Creek incident.

"It's the Taipei version of the Pachang Creek tragedy, in which the public watched the bungled rescue procedure that culminated in the deaths of four construction workers trapped in rising floodwaters on TV.

Although the Tahu tragedy was not broadcast live on TV, it's not much different in nature, because the city's fire department didn't arrive at the scene for four hours," Huang said.

Cho Mei-fang (卓梅芳), one of the survivors, said she and her family were very upset over the city's handling of the case.

"I don't know what more evidence is needed to enable us to get state compensation. Are three deaths not enough?" she said.

Cho lost her mother, an older brother and a younger sister during typhoon Winnie on Aug. 18, 1997.

Heavy rainfall caused the level of the Tahu mountain lake to rise rapidly and overflow, but floodgates were not opened which would have allowed the excess water to exit via the locality's drainage system.

Instead, the water inundated the Tahu area, in some places waist-deep. Apartments below ground level, like that of the Chos, were completely submerged.

It was later concluded that the flooding was caused by the failure of city government workers to open the lake's floodgates. In addition, garbage and other small objects blocked drainage pipes that should have helped the water to escape.

In the wake of the tragedy, then-mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) made a public apology, the director of the city's Office of City Parks and Street Lights, Chang Ching (張清), stepped down to shoulder political responsibility, and several other government employees were disciplined.

Although the Chos have received a total of over NT$4 million in compensation, Huang said it was obviously not enough.

"What the family really wants is to know how on earth the tragedy happened, exactly who was responsible, and when the city is to make a final decision on state compensation," she said.

Prosecutors at the Shihlin District Court later found that the city's parks office was not responsible for the three deaths, and instead pointed the finger at both the environmental protection bureau for failing to unblock the clogged drains and the proprietor of an unauthorized restaurant located upstream.