The Taiwan High Court yesterday reversed a lower court decision on the 2008 death of air force staff sergeant Tsai Hsueh-liang (蔡學良) by ruling against military authorities and ordering the air force to pay Tsai’s family NT$1.48 million (US$47,240) in compensation.
Tsai’s mother, Yu Jui-ming (尤瑞敏), said she was grateful to the judge, as the ruling placed responsibility for the sergeant’s death on air force authorities, while the earlier decision ruled it a suicide and exonerated the military.
Since Tsai’s death, Yu has campaigned for justice for her son, and demanded that the Ministry of National Defense and military officials stop covering up the case.
“The ruling today is only the beginning, because we still do not have the truth,” Yu said. “I implore the ministry to fully investigate and come clear on the circumstances of the case. If there is no truth, then there can be no forgiveness.”
“Throughout the judicial process, I saw that military officials intended only to cover up the truth and deceive the public. Through this legal battle, the longer I fought against them, the more pain it brought to my heart,” she said. “I ask defense ministry officials to let us know the truth, and to stop interfering with the judicial system.”
Tsai died under suspicious circumstances at a firearms practice range on May 9, 2008.
The military said his death was a suicide, but his mother thought her son had been murdered, alleging that he was shot with a pistol by another service member.
She has pressed the ministry to investigate further by staging protests and hunger strikes.
Yu sued the ministry and the Air Force Command Headquarters, seeking NT$6 million in compensation, but the Taipei District Court concurred with the military’s conclusion and ruled against her in 2010.
“My son’s life was priceless. If you really want to put a figure on it, my son is worth more than NT$100 billion,” Yu said, regarding the ruling that the military must pay NT$1.48 million. “Before, I sought NT$6 million as compensation to partially cover the expenses of the legal process.”
Yu said she has spent far more than NT$6 million through her campaign over the past six years.
She said she is 100 percent certain her son did not commit suicide.
“I can accept that my son was killed by someone else, but I cannot accept the military not giving me the truth,” she said. “I cannot forgive the military officials, because so far we have no truth. When there is no forgiveness, then our society still does not have peace and harmony.”
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