The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday demanded that Taipei City officials investigate a crash on Sunday night involving a police car and two individuals attending the anti-government rally on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei. Both were seriously injured.
“The Taipei City Government has not told us the truth, so there should be further investigation. Calling it an accident at this stage is trying to deflect responsibility,” DPP Spokesman Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
“The Taipei City Government must assume full responsibility for this incident,” he said.
PHOTO: CHANG CHIA-MING, TAIPEI TIMES
Taipei Police Officer Lin Chien-chih (林建智), who was driving the police vehicle, was released on NT$100,000 bail yesterday.
The two men, Chang Chung-hsiung (張忠雄), 68, and Hsu Jen-shan (徐仁山), 67, were crossing Hangzhou S Road near Jinou Girls’ Junior High School (金甌女中) when the police car ran them over.
Chang suffered a brain hemorrhage, a chest injury and a fractured leg. Hsu suffered bruises to his head and a broken hip joint.
The two men were rushed to National Taiwan University Hospital, where doctors performed surgery on Chang and amputated his lower left leg early yesterday morning.
“Chang’s condition has stabilized, but he is still listed as critical. He is now in the intensive care unit under observation,” a hospital spokeswoman told reporters.
“Hsu’s injuries were less severe. We will operate on him in the afternoon,” she said.
Taipei prosecutors said yesterday that based on Lin’s cellphone record, he was on the phone at 7:34pm, around the time of the accident.
Lin denies being on the phone.
Prosecutors said Lin told them he was driving between 30kph and 40kph, but the broken windshield indicated the car was traveling much faster. Witnesses told reporters at the site that the driver was going at least 80kph.
Prosecutors said Lin did not apply the brakes before hitting the two men.
The Taipei Police Department had said earlier that Lin was driving the police car while on patrol, but said later that he had finished his shift and was returning the car to a nearby police station.
Former premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of the DPP visited the two men at hospital yesterday afternoon.
He told reporters that according to the hospital, Chang’s life still hung in the balance and that the next two days would be critical.
DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and former vice president Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) also visited the men.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said the DPP believed it was an accident and that the police officer did not hit the protesters on purpose.
The party nevertheless requested that an investigation be launched immediately to clear up the matter and that the party be allowed to take part.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators urged the city government to punish the officer responsible.
KMT Legislator Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) told reporters that the city government should complete the investigation into the accident as soon as possible.
KMT Legislator Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) agreed and commended the DPP for “not politicizing the accident.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND DPA
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