Ministry of Justice backs criminal case in disaster

The Ministry of Justice remains in favor of continuing to investigate the legal liability of the three pilots of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) jetliner which crashed last Tuesday at CKS International Airport in Taoyuan, despite escalating criticism and denouncement from abroad.

Opponents to such action said that to sue pilots following an air crash contravenes international practice.

As soon as the Aviation Safety Council (ASC, 飛安會) declared that pilot error caused the accident, the local prosecutors' office in Taoyuan said that the three pilots, who survived the accident, might have to face charges of manslaughter caused by professional negligence.

The ASC has called upon the prosecutors' office to be wary of the risk of a possible boycott by the international community because apportioning legal liability to pilots after air accidents contravenes international practice. Kay Yong (戎凱), managing director of the council, quoting a senior US investigator, remarked that, "Taiwan would be considered as remaining in the Stone Age if prosecutors really took such action."

Yong also said that in order to be spared criminal liability, the pilots may choose to say nothing at all, which would hamper the investigation into the incident.

The International Federation of Airline Pilots' Associations has released a statement saying that threats of civil or criminal charges against pilots would hold back the flow of information helpful to the prevention of future incidents.

In response to the outcry against possible legal action against the pilots, Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), remarked that objections from foreign pilots had nothing to do with the law and said, "prosecutors need not concern themselves with diplomacy or politics in their investigations into a case."

Chen said that prosecutors had been involved in the investigation in accordance with Taiwanese regulations, including criminal law. "If evidence found in investigations suggests that the SIA pilots are criminally liable, prosecutors are absolutely entitled to file a lawsuit against them in accordance with our law," he said.

He added that the Ministry of Justice would liase with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to establish whether Taiwan has signed any international treaties or conventions that have specific rules about pilot immunity. Otherwise, he said, the prosecutors' right to indict the pilots should be upheld.

The prosecutors' office in Taoyuan also responded to the outcry, stating, "Whoever commits a crime in our territory is liable under our criminal law as long as Taiwan is a sovereign state. It is humiliating to the nation and inimical to its sovereignty not to handle this case in accordance with our law."

Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭), minister of transportation and communications, said that she respected the authority and rights of the justice ministry, but also hoped that international practice could be taken into account. She said she would further communicate with the judiciary for a proper resolution of the dispute as soon as possible.