Employee falls to her death at karaoke club in Taipei

Taipei, Nov. 14 (CNA) An employee at a karaoke club in Taipei died Wednesday night when she accidentally fell out of a window on the eighth floor of the building, according to the Taipei City police.

When the Taipei City Fire Department received a report around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday, first responders rushed to the scene and found the woman lying in a pool of blood on the street outside Cashbox Partyworld in Zhongzheng District, police said.

She had no vital signs and was rushed to hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m. after resuscitation efforts failed, according to police.

A preliminary investigation into the death of the 22-year-old employee found that she had accidentally fallen from a small window in the computer room on the eighth floor of the 13-story building, police said.

The woman had noticed that the transom window was open, and she tried to close it but was not tall enough, according to police. She then propped up two vegetable baskets under the window and stood on them, leaning out to grasp the handle on the push-out window, police said.

The baskets tipped over, and the woman lost her balance, falling out of the window to the street eight floors below, at the back of the Cashbox Partyworld club on Zhonghua Road, the police said.

Based on their preliminary investigations, police said, they think it was an accidental fall.

There were no surveillance cameras in the computer room, police said, adding that their preliminary findings were based on footage obtained from cameras elsewhere on the karaoke club and on statements given by other employees. The case has been handed over to prosecutors for further investigation, they said.

On Thursday, the Taipei City Labor Inspection Office said it had sent inspectors to the club to check its occupational safety measures and equipment.

If Cashbox Partyworld is found to have violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act, it may be liable to a fine of up to NT$300,000 (US$9,206), the office said.

Cashbox Partyworld is a Taiwanese company that operates a chain of karaoke clubs across the country.