Ex-district Council member / Matthew LAI
The engineer surnamed Wang died at Le Méridien Taipei hotel last year, the Wang family sued the hotel’s director Cai Bohan and the staff for negligent homicide. Half a month later, after the non-prosecution went viral in the media, the victim’s family eventually got the sanctions of non-prosecution from Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutors Office.
The defense attorney’s statement in the non-prosecution claimed that: “At the moment, the victim went ashore alone after swimming, and then he rested on a lounge by the pool. As far as the lifeguard’s duty is concerned, it is not the lifeguard’s responsibility to look after the swimmers after they leave the pool.” Therefore, he stated that the lifeguard hasn’t done anything wrong. It is condemned that this argument is ridiculous. Does the swimmer have to soak in the pool and wait for the lifeguard to come and rescue him? In other words, does it mean that once the swimmers leave the pool, their safety is none of the lifeguards’ business?
Then he mentioned: “Before the ambulance arrived, the accused also carried out necessary first aid (including the use of AED). Until the ambulance arrived, the accused let the medical personnel take over. Nothing has done wrong by Le Méridien Taipei hotel.” The content only emphasizes that the hotel staff performed first aid for the victim, but deliberately ignores the fact accused by the complaining party that when CPR was given to him, the interruption lasted for 3 minutes and the automatic external cardiac defibrillator (AED) was not used.
Moreover, when the victim called the counter for the first time at 7:36 in the evening, he clearly expressed that he felt chest tightness and couldn’t breathe in air properly, which are the early signs of myocardial infarction. The employee didn’t notice, rather than providing him with proper help, he then asked the victim whether he had dinner or not, which is a question that showed his lack of medical knowledge. He mistakenly believed that the victim was unwell just because of low blood sugar, delaying the victim’s prime time for medical treatment.
As for the non-indictment, the prosecutor considered that although the hotel staff have received first aid training courses such as CPR and how to use an AED, they do not have medical expertise and ability. Not to mention the ability to diagnose the condition of the victim. If that was the case, why didn’t they call 119 for an ambulance as soon as possible? Why didn’t they consult professional medical staff and ask for medical advice? Neither did the Le Méridien Taipei hotel staff call 119 in the first place nor did they accompany the victim to the hospital. If this is not a delay in medical treatment, then what is it?
Moreover, it is mentioned that “Due to the duty as a lifeguard, he must pay attention to other people’s safety in the water, thus he did not go to the resting place in the recliner area and look after him. According to his standing position at the time, he could clearly see the conditions of other swimmers in the pool and the victim who was resting on the recliner.” In addition, the prosecutor believed that “The obligation of lifeguards is to provide assistance by asking about the victim’s physical condition and whether there is a medical need… therefore it can’t be said that it is the lifeguard’s negligence that should be paid attention to but not paid attention to, let alone the responsibility for the death of negligence.” These statements completely ignore the lifeguard’s “guarantor status”.
If the lifeguard on duty had checked the victim’s condition as soon as possible, had found that the symptoms of discomfort had not been alleviated, and had measured the victim’s blood pressure and heartbeat and provided him with oxygen; if the symptoms persist and the lifeguard had sent him to the hospital immediately, a young life could have been saved. Unfortunately, the lifeguard did not go to check the victim throughout the whole incident. Instead, he only asked the staff about the victim’s situation. During the whole process, the staff only asked and observed. No one has ever checked the victim’s body.
It is impossible for a doctor to know the exact condition of the patients just by looking at them and asking questions, let alone the trainless hotel staff. It seems like to the prosecutors, the lifeguard had done his duty only by asking the customers’ feelings.
From the content of the non-prosecution disciplinary statement, it is obvious that the prosecutors clearly favored the argument of the Le Méridien Taipei hotel’s side of the defense. The prosecutor did not respond to most of the doubts of the victim’s family members. This led to the question of whether judicial justice in Taiwan has disappeared? The prosecutor did not ask the Le Méridien Taipei hotel to provide the evidence of the conversation at the time, which made it hard to convince the public that it is a fair judgement. If it is true that the victim refused to be sent to the hospital as the attorney of the Le Méridien Taipei hotel said, he should publicize all the phone calls on the night when the tragedy happened.
Photo credit: Photo from https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class、CNEWS Press Kits
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