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Lawmaker blasts ruling in death of disabled student

"The judges ... must have come from `a dark universe' [an evil dimension] to have made such a ridiculous decision."

Hsu Chong-hsiung, KMT legislator

Citing a recent case in which a student surnamed Chen was fined NT$3 million after a handicapped person he was helping downstairs fell and died, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chong-hsiung (徐中雄) yesterday called on the public to pressure the government into implementing laws and regulations that substantively care for the nation's handicapped.

He criticized the Taiwan High Court's ruling that the student had to pay compensation to the victim's family.

"Kindness never equals guilt," Hsu said at a press conference held yesterday. "The judges in charge of the case must have come from a `dark universe' [an evil dimension] to have made such a ridiculous decision."

Hsu said he suffered from polio when he was an infant and he understood how desirable it is for a disabled person to receive help from others.

The public might lose sympathy for handicapped people, and now had a motive to not help disabled people because of the court's ruling, Hsu said.

The case started five years ago when Chen, a student at Taipei's Jingwen High School carried his classmate -- surnamed Yen, who suffered from osteogenesis imperfecta -- on his back to attend a physical education class.

Because it was raining and the stairs were slippery, Chen fell down and Yen fell with him, resulting in his death. Yen's family asked Chen, Chen's family and the high school to compensate them NT$7 million for their child's death, but the Taipei District Court last April ruled that the defendants did not have to pay any compensation.

The high school was also not determined to have been negligent.

However, the Taiwan High Court on Thursday ruled that Chen, Chen's family and the high school collectively pay NT$3.33 million to the victim's family.

The latest ruling said that taking care of a seriously handicapped person is a professional's job. Chen never received any training to carry a disabled person and should not have done it, therefore he needed to take responsibility.

The ruling also said that Jingwen High School did not offer sufficient facilities for handicapped people and so should compensate the victim's family.

Chen and his family yesterday said they would appeal to the Supreme Court. Taipei Jingwen High School also said it would appeal the case.
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