KMT lawmaker released on bail over deadly 2024 Pingtung hospital fire

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) A lawmaker from the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has been released on bail of NT$5 million (US$152,200) over his alleged responsibility for a fire at a hospital in Pingtung County that killed nine people in October 2024.

Su Ching-chuan (蘇清泉), a KMT lawmaker who was honorary director of Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in the southern Taiwanese county's Donggang Township, was questioned and released on bail on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office on Thursday.

The former hospital director is suspected of negligent homicide and violating building regulations, the prosecutors' statement said.

Su Ching-chuan's brother, Su Wei-sung (蘇威菘), who is the hospital's general affairs manager, was also questioned and released on a separate bail of NT$3 million, according to the prosecutors.

"The task force will continue to review relevant evidence, clarify the facts and determine responsibility as quickly as possible," the prosecutors' statement said.

Nine people, including eight patients and a hospital employee, died in the fire that broke out in Block D of the hospital building where 324 patients were staying, according to a press release issued by the Pingtung County Government's Communication and International Affairs Division on Oct. 3, the day the blaze occurred.

Speaking at a KMT event in Pingtung County on Thursday, Su Ching-chuan thanked the county government for their support and the prosecutors for their "diligence," but said that it was "inconvenient" to discuss the matter with reporters while the investigation was ongoing.

At a press conference on Jan. 3, the Pingtung County Government said that illegal construction work had occurred on around 47 percent of the hospital's 21,830 square meter area.

However, the county government also said it had not received any reports of illegal construction at the hospital over the previous 10 years, while the Department of Urban and Rural Development was the "primary competent authority" tasked with ensuring regulatory compliance at the hospital.

Su Ching-chuan, who is the head of the KMT's Pingtung County branch, served as an at-large legislator from 2012 to 2016 and was re-elected to the lawmaking role in January 2024.

If convicted of negligent homicide under Article 276 of Taiwan's Criminal Code, Su Ching-chuan could face up to five years in prison per charge.