Taipei, Nov. 11 (CNA) A railway official has been sentenced to nearly nine years in jail for failing to properly supervise a construction project that went awry and led to Taiwan's deadliest train crash in 70 years, the Taiwan Hualien District Court ruled Friday.
CONTROVERSIAL: Sentences of up to nearly nine years are likely to be appealed, as homicide rather than negligence was more apparent, prosecutors and families saidBy Jason Pan / Staff reporter
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to the Criminal Code would impose increased sentences, as there is the perception that the existing statute is out of date and too lenient on offenders found to be responsible for incidents resulting in a high number of fatalities.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
7 indicted in Taiwan s deadliest train crash in decades
04/16/2021 10:40 PM
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A slide used by the Hualien District Prosecutors Office to explain its findings regarding the April 2 train crash. CNA photo April 16, 2021
Taipei, April 16 (CNA) The Hualien District Prosecutors Office on Friday indicted seven individuals for offenses related to the Taroko Express train crash on April 2 that killed 49 people and injured more than 200 others, the deadliest train accident Taiwan has seen in seven decades.
Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of the crane truck that fell onto the track just a minute before the train crashed into it as it was entering a tunnel, was charged with negligence causing death, according to a press release issued by the district prosecutors office.