Army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) suffered agonizing pain from accumulated “inhumane physical punishments” that led to his death on July 4 last year, expert witnesses told the Taiwan High Court on Monday.
The court is conducting a hearing this week, and has summoned army officials, including Chief-of-Staff Lieutenant General Hau Yi-chih (郝以知), along with a number of medical professionals to testify as expert witnesses for the High Court’s collegiate bench.
The medical experts include Chen Jin-jong (陳俊忠), a professor at the Exercise Health Science Institute at National Yang-Ming University, and Pauling Chu (朱柏齡), head of the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Heat Stroke at Tri-Services General Hospital.
“Hung suffered agonizing pain and inhumane treatment from the physical exercise punishments, which led to his death from ‘exertional heat stroke’ and multiple-organ failure,” Chen said.
He blamed Hung’s superiors and the officers in charge of the 269th Mechanized Infantry Brigade’s detention center, where Hung was punished by being ordered to perform strenuous exercise drills.
“The officers who managed the detention center lacked the capability and professional knowledge [to mete out proper punishment]. They punished the detainees with unreasonable physical drills,” Chen said.
“They did not try to alleviate Hung’s heat stroke, which led to his physical deterioration and eventual death,” Chen said.
Chu added that Hung’s body movements had slowed on July 3 after he was subjected to several days of harsh drills.
“Hung displayed obvious signs of heat stroke. If someone had measured his body temperature and allowed him to rest for a day, then he would not have died,” Chu said.
The testimonies supported views expressed by Hung’s family and friends, who said the 24-year-old died from inhumane treatment and wrongful punishment.
They have said that his superiors and other military officers violated military rules and should be brought to justice for misconduct.
Hung’s death ignited widespread public anger.
The military said that Hung died from heat stroke due to his body’s inablity to cope with “routine” exercise drills.
The Hung case has prompted several demonstrations against the Ministry of National Defense.
The military conducted an investigation into Hung’s death, which led to the arrest and questioning of several officers.
The case was later transferred to civilian prosecutors, with the Taoyuan District Court in March finding 13 military personnel guilty of various charges, for which they received prison sentences of up to eight months, while five were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.
Many people said the sentences were too lenient, and the Hung family filed an appeal to the Taiwan High Court.
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