Death of Hung Chung-chiu

On July 15, Taiwan's defense ministry released initial findings which showed that Hung should have only been given an administrative punishment and that even if he had committed an offense that merited a military detention punishment, that physical drills should not have been allowed under the heat and humidity he experienced.[9]

Questions were raised on the medical and psychological report on Hung that was approved before he was sent for detention at 269th Brigade. Such a medical report would normally take a week to complete, but it was expedited within half a day which military investigators described as "unusual".[18] Similar questions were raised on delays in emergency transport and treatment of Hung after he fell into coma at the detention barrack; Taiwanese media used civilian CCTV recordings of the journey to 819th Army Hospital to allege that the ambulance was traveling at a slow speed and its sirens turned off.[19]

On 26 July, an autopsy report determined that the Hung's death was "inflicted by others".[20]

A few witnesses who spoke to the media after the death of Hung have reportedly received death threats from unknown sources.

37 military officials received punishment over Hung's death, and 18 cases of criminal prosecutions were initiated under civilian courts.[3] This included Hung's superiors in 542nd Brigade and officials from the military detention base at 269th Brigade. The highest and second highest-ranking officials to be prosecuted were Major General Shen Wei-chih and Colonel Ho Chiang-chun, commander and deputy commander of 542nd Brigade, respectively.[22][23][24]

On 7 March 2014, the Taoyuan District Court found 13 military officials guilty of abuse of power and handed down sentences of up to eight months imprisonment:

• Company Commander Hsu Hsin-cheng received an eight-month imprisonment sentence for abuse of authority.[25]
• Major General Shen Wei-chih, Colonel Ho Chiang-chung and four other officials were sentenced to six months imprisonment for their abuse of authority to detain Hung.[25]
• Staff Sergeant Chen Yi-hsun, who oversaw Hung while he was in detention at 269th Brigade, received a six months imprisonment sentence for abuse which could be commuted to a fine.[25]

Five more officials were acquitted due to insufficient evidence.[25] The family found the sentences too light and "unacceptable", vowing to file an appeal to Taiwan High Court.[25] The appeal was decided on 28 June 2017. Major General Shen Wei-chih, First Lieutenant Kao Yu-lung, and Sergeant Lo Chi-yuan were found not guilty. Six other defendants were subject to reduced sentences.[26] The High Court decisions regarding Shen Wei-chih and Chen Yi-hsun were appealed to the Supreme Court, which upheld Shen's not guilty verdict and sentenced Chen to four months imprisonment and two years of probation.[27][28]

Public protest to defend Hung Chung-chiu by carrying dark ROC flag.

Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Annotated Republic of China Laws/Criminal Code of the Armed Forces/Article 44

On 20 July 2013, 30,000 protestors known as Citizen 1985 gathered outside the defense ministry building,[16][17] where Deputy Minister of National Defense Andrew Yang accepted a petition letter from protestors.[12] The second protest, held on 3 August by the same group, attracted a record number of followers in Taiwan, reaching over 100,000.[29] In response to these protests Legislative Yuan quickly approved major reforms to Taiwan's military justice system, which included the abolition of court martial during peacetime and transfer of military prisoners to civilian prisons.[6]

Members of the 542nd Brigade attended Hung's funeral under intense media scrutiny. Taiwanese Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu tendered his resignation after the incident, but was initially declined by President Ma Ying-jeou.[17][30] Kao's tendered his resignation again and this was approved on 30 July.[5] His deputy Andrew Yang took his post. President Ma visited Hung's family and made assurances on a complete investigation, and has also made a public apology.[3][30]

Taiwanese TV media and Hung's family have criticized the slow pace and opaqueness of the military investigation.[31] In particular Chung T'ien Television's News Tornado have decided to conduct their own private investigation by inviting whistleblowers who had just discharged from the Army and media analysts on air; these whistleblowers alleged to have witnessed several military malpractices.[24][32]

The Taiwanese government has offered compensation of NT$100 million (US$3.34 million) for Hung's death.[4] The Hung family insisted that the military officials responsible should bear the compensation amount and rejected the offer, saying that they only consider this matter after the truth is revealed.[33]

Hung's death has cast further doubts over Taiwan's military conscription program changes due to manpower shortfalls.[34] Taiwan was supposed to transition to an all-volunteer force by 2015 and shorten military service from one year to four months.[35] 17,447 recruitments were needed for 2013 and only 1,847 was achieved by July, and this incident has shaken public confidence making the target much more difficult to achieve.[35]

Following the lower court rulings on the case, Citizen 1985 and netizens voiced disappointment at the sentences, and plan to organize another demonstration.[36]

• Death of Martin Anderson