A Keelung court has awarded NT$2.65 million (US$82,331) in state compensation to the family of a man who died after being swept into New Taipei City’s Beishi River (北勢溪) following heavy rain.
On Oct. 16, 2021, a man surnamed Chung (鐘) was on a guided group tour along the Hubaotan Historic Trail in New Taipei City’s Shuangsi District (雙溪) when he, another adult and four children were swept away and died while attempting to cross the swollen river over a check dam.
The tour guide, surnamed Su (蘇), was found guilty of negligence and given a two-year prison sentence that was suspended for five years.
Photo: Lin Chia-tung, Taipei Times
Members of Chung’s family later filed a lawsuit, seeking state compensation for his death.
They said that while the area around the dam had remained open to the public, the New Taipei City Government had failed to post any warning signs, set up a public address system or provide life-saving equipment.
The city government said it had posted signs in the area, warning people not to enter the water, and that the check dam was not part of any government-designated walking route.
Responsibility for the incident rested wholly on the tour guide, who “dangerously” led the group across the river using the dam, the city said.
On Sunday, the Keelung District Court awarded NT$2.65 million in state compensation to Chung’s family.
The court found that the city had been negligent in its failure to post warning signs on both sides of the dam.
Without the signs, Chung was unable to “reasonably judge” whether it was safe to cross the river at that location, it said.
Shuangsi District Office head Lin Yao-jie (林銚傑) said the city government “respects” the court’s ruling.
“This was a tragedy, and the city government has no desire to rub salt in the wounds of the victims’ families,” Lin said.
When the Taoyuan Legal Affairs Department receives the full text of the court ruling, it would decide, in consultation with its lawyers, whether to file an appeal, he added.
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