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Defendants in Hung
Chung-chiu case to remain free on bail
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The Military High Court yesterday released on bail three key defendants in the
case of the death of army corporal Hung Chung-chiu (¬x¥ò¥C), saying they had been
cooperating with the investigation and that there were no concerns over possible
collusion.
After an overnight detention hearing, the court released former deputy commander
of the 542nd Brigade Colonel Ho Chiang-chung (¦ó¦¿©¾) on bail of NT$500,000,
company commander Major Hsu Shin-cheng (®}«H¥¿) on NT$250,000 bail and Staff
Sergeant Fan Tso-hsien (S¦õ¾Ë) on NT$400,000 bail at about 4pm.
The court said the defendants had been cooperative during questioning and their
court appearances, and there was no immediate concern of collusion, since they
have been monitored by military officers at all times.
The detention hearing began on Wednesday evening after the court accepted an
interlocutory appeal from military prosecutors, filed after the three were
released on bail on Friday last week.
After consecutive days of drill exercises in a military detention facility, Hung
died from heat exhaustion and multiple organ failure in hospital on July 4, just
three days before he was due to be discharged from his compulsory military
service.
Responding to the release, Hung¡¦s sister, Hung Tzu-yung (¬x·O±e), said in Greater
Taichung that her family ¡§has pretty much given up on the credibility of the
military judiciary,¡¨ adding that ¡§anyone who is not blind can see the irregular
activities of and the contacts between the defendants.¡¨
While the jurisdiction of the case is soon to be transferred to the civilian
judiciary after a landmark amendment was passed in the legislature on Tuesday,
Hung Tzu-yung said military prosecutors did not begin their probe into the 542nd
Brigade until two weeks into the investigation.
¡§It¡¦s too late now as [the defendants] have been able to get everything ready
for the investigation and trial,¡¨ she said.
Prosecutors submitted evidence in the hearing and accused 542nd Brigade
Commander Shen Wei-chih (¨H«Â§Ó), one of 18 defendants in the case, of convening a
meeting with officers involved in the case ¡X including Ho, Hsu and Fan ¡X on July
9, before the officers visited the Hung family for the first time and allegedly
colluded on a unified statement about Hung¡¦s death.
Prosecutors also said that Fan had returned to the 542nd Brigade base for
unknown activities on Saturday night without notifying his superiors, a
suspicious move that could be related to destruction of evidence and collusion.
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