The Northern Military District Court filed a civil suit yesterday against former minister of national defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) and five others implicated in the wrongful execution of an airman 15 years ago, seeking NT$14.75 million (US$500,000) in compensation from each of them.
Chen was chief of air force Combat Command at the time of the conviction. The other five are former air force legal department director Tsao Chia-sheng (曹嘉生), former military prosecutor Huang Jui-peng (黃瑞鵬), and former air force counterintelligence agents Ko Chung-ching (柯仲慶), Ho Tsu-yao (何祖耀) and Lee Chih-Jen (李植仁), according to a Ministry of National Defense statement.
Lee has passed away and his share of the money is now the responsibility of his heirs. The legal action was taken after the six refused to reimburse the court for compensation awarded to the victim’s family, the statement said.
In October last year, a military court awarded NT$103 million in compensation to Wang Tsai-lien (王彩蓮), the mother of Chiang Kuo-ching (江國慶), the air force serviceman who was executed in 1997 for a rape and murder he did not commit.
According to a decision by a compensation review committee formed by the court, the six officials, as well as former counterintelligence agent Teng Chun-huan (鄧震環), committed major mistakes in the case and should be held responsible for paying the compensation to Chiang’s family, the ministry statement said.
None of the officials involved has shown any intention of making the payment except for Teng, who reached a NT$2.8 million settlement with the committee and made the payment on April 6, the statement said.
Chiang was convicted of raping and killing a five-year-old girl at Air Force Combat Command in Taipei in 1996 and was executed a year later at the age of 21.
However, his conviction and execution were determined many years later to have depended on a coerced confession, with at least six officials found to have tortured him.
Chiang was acquitted in a posthumous retrial in September last year.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese