SIBU, Nov 23: A civil suit will be filed by family of the late Irene Chung against several authorities in Taiwan for negligence which led to her death on Oct 29.
They include Chang Jung Christian University (CJCU), Taiwan City Council and the Taiwan government.
Chung’s family lawyer, Yap Hoi Liong in saying this at a press conference here today highlighted the issue of contention in the civil suit is that if these authorities had implemented preventive measures, it would not have led to her death.
“About a month earlier on Sept 29, it was reported that another female student of CJCU has almost become the victim of the same suspect. However the authorities there has committed misconduct and were negligent in the case. If they had taken up that case, we strongly believe it would not lead to Chung’s death,” said Yap.
He pointed out that Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-Wen had also in her statement to the family, admitted her authorities’ negligence in taking up the first case.
“Since the president had admitted to negligence by her authorities, we can now proceed with the civil suit,” said Yap.
He added that the family is engaging the Taiwan Bar Association under its president, Lin Ruey-Cheng to take up the civil suit.
On the suspect, Yap revealed he has not being charged yet, though he had admitted to the murder.
“Even before he has been brought to the court, there has been a lot of speculations and public opinion on the case. We don’t want the case to be tried or be influenced by these public opinions,” he said.
Yap said the family wanted the suspect to be tried in court under Section 226-1 of the Penal Code of the Republic of China which provides for the mandatory death sentence for murder. The family also wanted the authority in Taiwan to release the autopsy report on the cause of Chung’s death in a month’s time instead of the usual three months.
“We are also seeking for Tiong (Special Envoy to the People’s Republic of China Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing) to do a government-to-government consultation to compel the Malaysian government to take cognizance of the case together with the Taiwanese government ” he added.
Meanwhile, Chung’s father, Desmond, thanked the Immigration Department of Malaysia and Taiwan for granting them quick access to Taiwan on Oct 30 to bring her ashes back.
He also expressed his appreciation to Tiong and the Sarawak Disaster Management Committee for other assistance.
Chung, 24, a student of Chiang Jung Christian University in Tainan, Taiwan was reported missing on the evening of Oct 28. She was found dead the next day and an arrested suspect had confessed to her murder. According to a CNA report, the suspect admitted to killing the woman by strangulation and disposing of her body.
Her parents travelled to Taiwan on Oct 30 following news of her death to bring her remains back in an urn. Chung was laid to rest at Nirvana Memorial Park here on Nov 21. — DayakDaily
