Singer Kui indicted for vehicular homicide, drunk driving

Taipei, May 5 (CNA) Singer Kui (邱軍) will stand trial for the death of a taxi driver killed in a hit-and-run collision while Kui was driving drunk in Keelung last December, according to an indictment filed by local prosecutors on Monday.

The taxi driver, surnamed Lee (李), was talking to another man surnamed Chen (陳) at the side of Xinyi Road in Keelung when they were hit by a vehicle at around 4:16 a.m. on Dec. 27, the Keelung District Prosecutors Office said in the indictment.

The driver of the vehicle was the 26-year-old singer, prosecutors said. He was driving under the influence and did not stop to check on the men he hit, instead running a red light when a bystander chased after the car.

The prosecutors said in the indictment that Kui had been drinking from midnight to 4 a.m. before he drove to a friend's residence in Keelung.

Kui did not report the incident to the police and failed to call the emergency services, nor did he stay at the scene or perform first aid, the prosecutors said.

Chen suffered contusions while Lee underwent emergency surgeries before dying in hospital on Jan. 3, said the prosecutors, who summoned Kui for questioning on Jan. 7 and secured approval from a court to detain the singer.

He has since been held incommunicado and the court granted a prosecution motion to extend the detention in late February.

Because Kui's alleged actions led to the taxi driver's death, he will be tried by a panel of six citizen judges and three professional judges.

Since Jan. 1, 2023, citizen judges in Taiwan have participated in trials where defendants are accused of intentionally committing crimes that result in loss of life.