The father of a two-year-old boy nicknamed En En (恩恩), who was the first child in Taiwan to die of COVID-19, yesterday said he has applied for compensation of NT$1 from New Taipei City.
En En began experiencing symptoms on April 13 and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on April 14. His condition worsened rapidly in the afternoon and he fell into a coma at home.
An ambulance arrived 81 minutes after the first call to take him to an emergency room. He died of septic shock and brainstem encephalitis on April 19.
Photo: CNA
En En’s father, surnamed Lin (林), has since late May been asking the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) and the New Taipei City Government to provide the contact records from that evening in effort to understand why it took so long for an ambulance to arrive.
Lin has faced several setbacks in his inquiries, including the fire department’s initial refusal to provide audio recordings, and later having the recordings leaked to a political talk show.
Lin last month wrote on Facebook that he had applied for open data from the city government, as per his legal rights, but he and his wife have “received lies,” and they still want to seek truth despite feeling frustrated and powerless.
Lin yesterday morning wrote on Facebook that he and his lawyer on Tuesday submitted an application for NT$1 in state compensation from New Taipei City.
He said the NT$1 is not the goal, but he hopes the claim would make judicial authorities become involved in his search for the truth and would help hold agencies accountable.
“We want the arrogant New Taipei City Government to admit its mistake, and to give us the truth and the sincere apology that we have wanted for so long,” he wrote, adding that the city must respond within a month after receiving the application.
Lin said although En En will forever be two years old, the tragedy has helped protect other children by leading to some changes in the emergency treatment procedure for COVID-19 cases.
The New Taipei City Legal Affairs Department and Department of Health said they have received the application and would handle it according to standard procedures.
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