Cabinet bill seeks stiffer negligent homicide penaltiesBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterThe 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. The punishments laid out in the law must be proportionate to the crimes committed, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told a Cabinet meeting yesterday. The entrance to the Cingshuei Tunnel, the site of the Taroko Express derailment, is pictured in Hualien County on Sunday. The Cabinet’s draft amendment would change the sentence for a serious offense of negligent homicide to one to seven years in prison, while it would impose a prison sentence of 10 years to life for intentional homicide and a sentence of seven years to life for intentional injury. However, legal experts say that amendments cannot be applied retroactively, so Lee, if convicted of negligent homicide, would only receive a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Source: Taipei Times April 22, 2021 15:56 UTC