The Chiayi District Court last week sentenced an Indonesian caregiver to six months in prison, convertible to a fine, for abandoning a patient.
Cicih Nurhayati is to be deported after serving her term, according to the verdict released on Thursday last week.
The verdict can be appealed.
Photo: Taipei Times
The court found that the caregiver guilty of contravening Article 294 of the Criminal Code, which stipulates that anyone who is bound by law, order, or contract to support or protect a helpless person, but abandons them or does not give them support or protection necessary to preserve their life, may be punished by imprisonment for between six months and five years.
The six-month penalty was given based on the defendant’s confession and the minimal damage caused by the incident, the court said.
The court based its ruling on information prosecutors presented in their indictment.
It said the caregiver was employed in March 2020 as a live-in caregiver to a man surnamed Lin (林), who has spinal muscular atrophy and chronic respiratory failure, accompanied by symptoms of hypoxia.
Lin can only control his facial and finger muscles and requires constant care to prevent life-threatening situations, such as nasal obstruction, his respirator falling off or the device malfunctioning, the indictment said.
In September 2021, after her request to take a leave was denied, Cicih packed her things and left the residence at about 1am, leaving behind Lin, who was helpless to survive on his own, the indictment said.
After receiving no response from Cicih, Lin called his mother, who had hired Cicih, using the voice-activation function on his mobile phone.
Cicih admitted guilt during police questioning, but repeatedly failed to respond to prosecutors’ summonses, and was later indicted for abandoning a helpless person in contravention of her contractual duties, said the indictment, filed in December 2021.
Since then, the caregiver had been unaccounted for before she reappeared earlier this year and turned herself over to the court.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS