The Taipei District Court yesterday handed down prison sentences ranging from eight to 10 months to six people involved in a fatal crane accident that killed three Chinese tourists in April.
On the afternoon of April 24, the boom of a crane fell from the 37th floor of a construction site in Taipei's Xinyi District (信義), smashing into the back of a tour bus carrying 25 tourists from Guangdong Province, China.
Prosecutors said the crane was built for a maximum 3.2-tonne boom, yet was lifting a 5-tonne boom.
In addition, the crane was being operated in high winds, prosecutors said, and the construction company did not block off the area at the site on Songgao Road while the crane was being operated.
The district court found Oriental Rigging and Equipment Corp (神洲建機公司) engineer Chueh Ti-ti (闕帝迪) and five workers guilty of causing death by occupational negligence.
The judgment said the six showed remorse for their crimes and were unlikely to repeat such negligence. The defendants were sentenced to between eight and 10 months in prison and all received two years probation.
The ruling can be appealed.
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