A Taoyuan man on Wednesday was found guilty of killing a man while driving under the influence (DUI) in April 2018.
The man, surnamed Liao (廖), was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison, and ordered to pay compensation to the victim’s family.
The Taoyuan District Court explained its ruling, saying that Liao (廖) fled after hitting a man surnamed Chen (陳), who was just about to open the door to his parked vehicle.
Investigators said that Liao did not stop to report the accident, as required by law, but drove off and was flagged down an hour later by Taoyuan police, who gave him a breath alcohol test.
The test found that Liao had a blood alcohol level of 0.51mg per liter (mg/L), above the legal limit of 0.15mg/L.
During the trial, Liao said he thought that he had only hit a utility pole, but drove away because he did not want to be caught for drunk driving.
The judges also found Chen at fault, saying that he should bear 20 percent of the responsibility for the accident, as investigators had found that his driver’s license had been suspended, and he had parked his car illegally, taking up part of the road’s outer lane.
Therefore, the judges reduced the compensation Liao must pay to NT$2.1 million (US$69,814) from the NT$7.17 million claimed by Chen’s parents.
Liao had already paid the parents NT$250,000 for Chen’s funeral expenses, the judges said.
As the first ruling in the case, the sentence can be appealed.
Seperately, a Coast Guard Administration chief officer surnamed Liang (梁) was demoted to a non-executive position after an accident in Taipei on Tuesday night in which four people were injured.
Investigators said that Liang hit six motorists who were waiting for the traffic lights to change at an intersection.
Liang had a blood alcohol level of 0.5mg/L, and faces charges related to driving under the influence and causing an accident that resulted in injuries.
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