The family of a female university student surnamed Huang (黃), who was killed by an air-conditioning (AC) unit that fell 17 stories onto a street in New Taipei City while it was being installed, are entitled to state-funded restitution of NT$1.8 million (US$56,504) in accordance with the Crime Victim Rights Protection Act (犯罪被害人權益保障法), the Ministry of Justice said yesterday.
The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday held a crime victim compensation review committee meeting during which a resolution was passed to award the family of the deceased NT$1.8 million, the ministry said.
The New Taipei City branch of the non-profit Association for Victims Support visited Huang’s family on July 21 to help them apply for state-funded restitution under the act, the ministry said.
Photo: CNA
Under the revised act, which was promulgated in February, the relatives of those who die as a result of being a victim of a crime are conditionally entitled to state-funded restitution of NT$1.8 million.
The NT$1.8 million would be appropriated by the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office after the application is reviewed and approved by the association’s New Taipei City branch, the ministry said.
The incident took place near Xinpu MRT Station in Banciao District (板橋) on July 20, when a 30kg air-conditioning unit fell from a building and hit the 21-year-old National Chengchi University student who was waiting for a bus on her way to a driving class, the New Taipei City Police Department had said.
The air-conditioner had been negligently installed by a 31-year-old worker surnamed Lee (李) and was not securely fastened to the window frame, a police investigation report said.
Huang received emergency treatment from bystanders before she was taken to Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, but was declared dead soon after arrival.
After being interrogated by prosecutors on suspicion of criminal negligence leading to Huang’s death, Lee was released on bail of NT$30,000 on condition that he remain under “restricted residence.”
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