The Taoyuan District Court yesterday found 13 military officials guilty of abuse of power and sentenced them to between three and eight months in prison for the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘).
The verdict sparked an angry protest from the Hung family, who condemned the sentences as being too light.
The 24-year-old Hung collapsed from heatstroke after drill exercises on July 3 last year and died in hospital a day later, just three days before he was due to be discharged from his compulsory military service.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
Members of the Hung family who were in court to listen to the ruling yesterday afternoon said they would file an appeal with the Taiwan High Court.
Hung’s mother and his sister, Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸), cried out upon hearing the decision.
“One life only costs a six-month sentence. No one was found responsible for the incident,” Hung’s mother later said outside the courthouse.
“We want to voice our disapproval. The government and the defense ministry is black-hearted and this is a dark day for justice. The verdict is unacceptable,” Hung’s uncle, Hu Shih-ho (胡世和), told reporters while giving the thumbs-down sign, as some supporters shouted “unfair justice.”
The ruling found 13 of the 18 defendants guilty, while the remaining five were acquitted.
Former company commander Major Hsu Shin-cheng (徐信正) of the 542nd Brigade was sentenced to eight months in prison for abusing his authority to confine Hung Chung-chiu.
Former commander of the 542nd Brigade Major General Shen Wei-chih (沈威志), former deputy commander Colonel Ho Chiang-chung (何江忠), vice company director Captain Liu Yen-chun (劉延俊), First Sergeant Chen Yi-jen (陳以人) and Staff Sergeant Fan Tso-hsien (范佐憲) were all sentenced to six months in prison on the same charge.
Staff Sergeant Chen Yi-hsun (陳毅勳) of the 269th Brigade, who oversaw Hung Chung-chiu’s punishment while in confinement, was sentenced to six months in prison. The sentenced can be commuted to a fine.
Sergeant Lo Chi-yuan (羅濟元) and three others were found guilty of charges of death caused by professional negligence and each given five months in prison. Corporal Lee Nien-tsu (李念祖) received a six-month sentence for the same charge. The five sentences for negligence can be commuted to fines.
First Lieutenant Kao Yu-lung (郭毓龍) was sentenced to three months in prison on charges of abuse of authority by confining the army conscript.
Hung Chung-chiu’s death sparked major protests, as the military dragged its feet in investigating the conscript’s death.
Military prosecutors indicted 18 senior officers and non-commissioned officers over the incident.
Public pressure also eventually led to an amendment to the Code of Court Martial Procedure (軍事審判法) in August last year that put civilian courts and prosecutors in charge of military criminal cases. The Hung case was subsequently transferred from the Military High Court to the Taoyuan District Court.
Additional reporting by AFP and CNA
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘CORRECT IDENTIFICATION’: Beginning in May, Taiwanese married to Japanese can register their home country as Taiwan in their spouse’s family record, ‘Nikkei Asia’ said The government yesterday thanked Japan for revising rules that would allow Taiwanese nationals married to Japanese citizens to list their home country as “Taiwan” in the official family record database. At present, Taiwanese have to select “China.” Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said the new rule, set to be implemented in May, would now “correctly” identify Taiwanese in Japan and help protect their rights, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The statement was released after Nikkei Asia reported the new policy earlier yesterday. The name and nationality of a non-Japanese person marrying a Japanese national is added to the
AT RISK: The council reiterated that people should seriously consider the necessity of visiting China, after Beijing passed 22 guidelines to punish ‘die-hard’ separatists The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has since Jan. 1 last year received 65 petitions regarding Taiwanese who were interrogated or detained in China, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. Fifty-two either went missing or had their personal freedoms restricted, with some put in criminal detention, while 13 were interrogated and temporarily detained, he said in a radio interview. On June 21 last year, China announced 22 guidelines to punish “die-hard Taiwanese independence separatists,” allowing Chinese courts to try people in absentia. The guidelines are uncivilized and inhumane, allowing Beijing to seize assets and issue the death penalty, with no regard for potential
‘UNITED FRONT’ FRONTS: Barring contact with Huaqiao and Jinan universities is needed to stop China targeting Taiwanese students, the education minister said Taiwan has blacklisted two Chinese universities from conducting academic exchange programs in the nation after reports that the institutes are arms of Beijing’s United Front Work Department, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) said in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) published yesterday. China’s Huaqiao University in Xiamen and Quanzhou, as well as Jinan University in Guangzhou, which have 600 and 1,500 Taiwanese on their rolls respectively, are under direct control of the Chinese government’s political warfare branch, Cheng said, citing reports by national security officials. A comprehensive ban on Taiwanese institutions collaborating or