Five male students charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of a fellow student, Lai Hsuan-yu (賴宣諭), were acquitted by the Taiwan High Court’s Taichung Branch on Wednesday on the grounds that they had shown an acceptable level of concern for her well-being.
In November 2008, Lai, then 20 and a student in Tunghai University’s Department of Japanese Language and Literature, was invited by the five men to share a bottle of Kinmen kaoliang, a liquor that is 58 percent alcohol.
After claiming that the kaoliang had no taste, the five male students started a bet, saying that if Lai could finish the bottle of kaoliang by herself, they would give her NT$600, according to the indictment.
However, after drinking 0.4 liters directly from the bottle in one go, Lai turned pale and began to feel dizzy, at which point the five stopped the bet.
They then gave Lai NT$600, then saw her back to her dorm, leaving only after they saw Lai step into the elevator of the dormitory, the indictment said.
Lai was found dead from asphyxiation at her desk the next day, it added.
Judges for both the first and second trial said that the actions to encourage drinking and the death of the plaintiff were directly related and should not have been done.
However, the judges added that the accused did stop the bet immediately and accompanied the woman back to her dormitory, showing that they adequately protected the victim.
The Taiwan High Court’s Taichung Branch said in its ruling that the Department of Health has warned against driving while under the influence of alcohol, but that it had never warned that drinking could cause alcohol poisoning leading to death.
More warnings regarding safe amounts of alcohol to consume would help prevent similar tragedies, the judges said.
The judges ruled the accused innocent because of their lack of knowledge that consuming large amounts of alcohol could cause alcohol poisoning leading to death and because they offered Lai what protection they could under the circumstances.
Commenting on the case, department said it was inappropriate to label alcohol drinks “over--consumption of alcohol could lead to death” because over-consumption of anything was detrimental to health.
The Taichung Prosecutors’ Office said that Lai was obviously drunk, but the judges said that even if Lai was drunk, sending her back to the dorm was the most appropriate action.
Translated by Jake Chung, Staff Writer
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