The family of late army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (洪仲丘) yesterday demanded that the Ministry of National Defense handle the probe into his death honestly and work to discover the truth as quickly as possible.
It was the first press conference that Hung’s parents, sister and uncle attended since Hung died from heat exhaustion on July 4 after participating in a training session the day before.
He had been serving in the army’s 542nd Brigade in Hsinchu County before he was transferred to the 269th Brigade in Taoyuan on June 28 for disciplinary action after he brought a smartphone with a camera onto a base without permission after returning from vacation on June 23.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
He was placed in solitary confinement and was scheduled to be discharged on July 6.
“I still haven’t recovered from the sudden loss of my child. I can’t sleep ... The ministry should find the truth behind his death so mothers do not have to worry about having their children complete their military service,” Hung’s mother, Hu Su-chen (胡素真), said in tears.
A total of 37 military officers, including Army Commander General Lee Hsiang-chou (李翔宙), have been reprimanded by the ministry over the incident and the vice commander of the 542nd Brigade, Colonel Ho Chiang-chung (何江忠), was detained on Tuesday for his suspected role in the death.
However, several other sergeants, staff sergeants and lower-ranking officers who were possibly directly involved in Hung’s death have not been detained or subpoenaed by military prosecutors.
The Hung family’s lawyer, Chiu Hsien-chih (邱顯智), submitted three demands to the ministry on behalf of the family: that they be given the right to review all documents related to the ministry’s preliminary investigation, that the ministry act to secure all evidence as soon as possible and that a third party — preferably not within the military judicial system — be involved in the investigation.
The family also called for the legislature to establish its own investigation committee, if possible.
“It has been 13 days since Hung died. These demands have been made in fear of potential collusion and destruction of evidence within the army,” Chiu said.
Discussion at the press conference was focused on missing footage from surveillance cameras in Hung’s cell at the 813 Hospital, which approved Hung’s physical condition before his confinement, and Ten-chen General Hospital in Yangmei Township (楊梅), Taoyuan County, where he was pronounced dead.
Surveillance video footage from the hospitals may show how Hung was disciplined, how his supervisors reacted after he collapsed and how he was treated by medical staff, said Hung’s uncle, Hu Shih-ho (胡世和).
Senior military prosecutor Major-General Tsao Chin-sheng (曹金生) said that the video recording of Hung’s training session on July 1 — of which an 80-minute segment is reportedly missing — has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice’s Bureau of Investigation for examination. Tsao added that the location where Hung fell ill on July 3 is not covered by any camera.
Hu said Tsao’s remark about the cameras’ blind spot was suspicious.
“The Ministry of National Defense wants to find out the truth as much as the public does and it will hold all those found to be responsible for the incident accountable for their actions,” Chou Chih-jen (周志仁), director of the ministry’s Department of Legal Affairs, told the press conference.
Defense officials at the press conference said they could not interfere with military prosecutors’ investigation nor disclose information about the ongoing probe, but they gave assurances that all evidence collected would be secured.
After the press conference concluded, the Hungs made a separate appeal to the Control Yuan to conduct an independent investigation.
DEFENSE: The National Security Bureau promised to expand communication and intelligence cooperation with global partners and enhance its strategic analytical skills China has not only increased military exercises and “gray zone” tactics against Taiwan this year, but also continues to recruit military personnel for espionage, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday in a report to the Legislative Yuan. The bureau submitted the report ahead of NSB Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign and National Defense Committee today. Last year, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted “Joint Sword-2024A and B” military exercises targeting Taiwan and carried out 40 combat readiness patrols, the bureau said. In addition, Chinese military aircraft entered Taiwan’s airspace 3,070 times last year, up about
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
RSS