The Pingtung District Court has ruled that diving instructors and their company must compensate a Japanese family NT$20.73 million (US$626,061) after a family member died in a diving accident.
Japanese tourist Ryoji Kujirai was diving with his family at Houpihu (後壁湖) in Pingtung County's Kenting (墾丁) in 2019 when bad weather and ear pressure issues caused him to drown.
The instructors, a husband and wife surnamed Lin (林) and Wang (王) respectively, are both qualified diving instructors and ran a diving shop in Hengchun Township (恆春), the court said.
Photo: Taipei Times
In August 2019, they led Kujirai and his wife and daughter for three days of open-water diving activities, it said.
The weather was poor on Aug. 15, 2019, with Level 9 wind gusts, waves of 2m to 3m high, and water visibility of only 2m to 3m, it added.
The instructors were conducting ear pressure equalization training with Kujirai that day and observed him diving and surfacing 18 to 20 times, showing signs of difficulty with ear pressure, the court said.
His eardrum ruptured due to underwater pressure, and he was not rescued in time to save him from drowning, it added.
Kujirai’s parents, wife and daughter sought more than NT$80 million in compensation for his death, subsequent funeral expenses, and emotional and punitive damages.
The court ruled to compensate the family NT$20.73 million, setting a record for the highest compensation in a diving-related fatality in Taiwan’s history.
The case is subject to appeal.
The compensation amount is reasonable given the number of plaintiffs, the victim's dependents and the atypical nature of the case compared with standard traffic accidents, attorney Pan Jen-cheng (潘人誠) said.
Lin and Wang were sentenced to eight and six months in prison respectively for negligent homicide.
Lin is currently serving his sentence, while Wang has lost her eyesight.
The diving company has ceased operations.
Additional reporting by Tsai Tsung-hsien
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