Three people drowned in a stream in a ravine on a leisure farm in Chiayi County’s Meishan Township (梅山) and prosecutors are investigating the farm’s owner on suspicion of negligence, they said yesterday.
The drownings occurred on Saturday, when a family of four from Nantou County paid for an afternoon tour of the farm.
“We will conduct a thorough investigation into this case. Two prosecutors and judicial investigators have been to the accident scene to examination the site and gather evidence,” Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office chief prosecutor Kuo Chen-ni (郭珍妮) said in a statement.
“If there is evidence of criminal negligence by the operators of the leisure farm, they will be prosecuted to the full extend of the law,” Kuo said.
The owner of Meishan Canyon Leisure Farm, a man surnamed Chiang (江), said that the stream is public property.
The bodies of a man, woman and a 16-year-old girl were found in the farm’s recreational area.
A 14-year-old girl was the sole survivor.
The younger girl was allegedly swept into deep water by currents. Her father, mother and sister jumped in to try and help her, but were overcome by the currents.
Chiang has allegedly operated the leisure farm illegally for the past 39 years, as he has never applied for a business license and the local government has never conducted safety inspections of the property.
Prosecutors allege Chiang used loopholes to continue his business and refused government inspections, saying that the farm is private property.
The property is in Bihu Village (碧湖村), which has two ravines.
Chiang told reporters that although he collects NT$100 as a nominal “entrance fee” it is meant for cleaning, and that he should not be held liable for the drownings because the streams are public property.
“I have told visitors not to play in the water and I have put up warning signs on the shore,” Chiang said.
Prosecutors said Chiang was trying to evade his legal responsibility, adding that he had been operating the business for profit.
Chiang advertised online with a Web site touting the landscape and promoting recreational activities on his farm, they said.
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