The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a draft amendment that would stiffen penalties for offenders convicted of negligent homicide, amid controversy that Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), who was indicted after the Taroko Express derailment killed 49, might only face a five-year term.
Proposed by the Ministry of Justice, the amendment to the Criminal Code would impose increased sentences, as there is the perception that the existing statute is out of date and too lenient on offenders found to be responsible for incidents resulting in a high number of fatalities.
The punishments laid out in the law must be proportionate to the crimes committed, Premier
Crane driver charged in TRA probe
NARROWING DOWN: After searches at 23 locations and questioning 109 people, prosecutors say that mishandling at a construction site might have caused the crash
By Jason Pan / Staff Reporter
Prosecutors yesterday indicted seven people in connection to the Taroko Express No. 408 derailment in Hualien County on April 2, in which 49 people died and more than 200 were injured.
Among the indicted were Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and into which the train crashed; his Vietnamese assistant, Hoa Van Hao; and workers at United Geotech Inc (聯合大地工程) and Tung Hsin Construction (東新營造), which undertook construction work near the site of the crash, Hualien prosecutor Chou Fang-yi (周芳怡) said.
Taroko Express Crash: Responders urged not to neglect self-care
By Wang Chin-yi and Kayleigh Madjar / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Doctors yesterday called on first responders to care for their mental health and watch for signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as rescuers continue to handle the aftermath of Friday’s train derailment in Hualien County.
The crash was the nation’s worst rail tragedy in decades, killing 50 and injuring 200 as of yesterday after the Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office revised the death toll down from 51 following DNA testing.
Taroko Express No. 408 was traveling from New Taipei City to Taitung when it crashed inside the Cingshuei Tunnel (清水隧道) in Hualien’s Sioulin Township (秀林) after hitting a crane truck that had slid down onto the tracks from a nearby work site.