Guangfu township chief indicted over barrier lake evacuation failures

Taipei, March 9 (CNA) The Hualien District Prosecutors Office on Monday indicted Guangfu Township chief Lin Ching-shui (林清水) on charges of causing a catastrophe through dereliction of duty and negligent manslaughter over last year's Matai'an Creek barrier lake breach that left 19 people dead.

Lin was also charged with falsifying evacuation figures during the disaster on Sept. 23, 2025. Prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence, citing his denial of responsibility and lack of remorse.

The township office's secretary, surnamed Chang (張), and civil affairs section head, surnamed Wang (王), were also indicted on the same charges. Prosecutors are seeking nine-year sentences for both officials.

Prosecutors added that investigations into the possible criminal liability of other officials in the Hualien County and central governments remain ongoing.

According to prosecutors, the Ministry of Agriculture determined on Sept. 19 that several wards in Fenglin and Guangfu townships in Hualien County could be affected by the potential overflow of the Matai'an Creek barrier lake as a typhoon approached Taiwan.

On Sept. 21, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency issued a yellow alert recommending the preventive evacuation of vulnerable residents in designated risk areas.

However, prosecutors said Lin underestimated the potential disaster and proceeded with a scheduled visit to Yilan County, assigning Chang to attend a virtual meeting with the Central Emergency Operation Center (CEOC) in his place.

After returning to Guangfu that evening, Lin failed to take command of disaster response operations and instead hosted a dinner for army rescue personnel deployed to the area with Chang, prosecutors said.

At 7 a.m. on Sept. 22, the Hualien branch of the forestry agency issued a red alert recommending immediate mandatory evacuation.

Despite the warning, Lin, Chang and Wang allowed a scheduled civil defense unit training session to proceed, even though prosecutors said they knew door-to-door evacuation and traffic restrictions should have been enforced.

After the training ended at 9 a.m., Lin instructed only the ward chiefs present to attend a meeting and failed to notify other chiefs in affected areas, prosecutors said.

Lin subsequently ordered mandatory evacuation in only a limited number of areas and advised residents in other zones to seek higher ground or stay with relatives.

He also failed to coordinate with police to clear danger zones, allowing residents and vehicles to continue moving through the area.

Prosecutors said Chang had attended the emergency operations meeting and was aware of the potential severity of the disaster but failed to push for stronger evacuation enforcement.

They also allege that Lin left his post to receive a dental implant in Fenglin during the emergency, disregarding the safety of residents in areas where evacuations had not been implemented.

To conceal their negligence and respond to oversight from county and central authorities, prosecutors said the three officials later falsified evacuation figures in the emergency information system without verifying the actual population in affected areas.