Family of nurse who died in line of duty to get full compensation
Taipei-A full compensation payout to the family of a nurse who died in a rescue helicopter crash while on duty in February last year has been approved after the Ministry of Civil Service (MOCS) held an advanced review committee session on the case Wednesday.
In a statement released by the MOCS, Minister of Civil Service Chou Hung-hsien (???) said after the review committee session that his ministry has determined that Tsai Yi-min's (???) compensation falls into the highest category of braving danger at risk of life while on duty.
Tsai perished while evacuating a patient from Orchid Island in bad weather, Chou said in the statement, adding that flight missions during the night are several times more dangerous than daytime missions.
After learning about the decision, Tsai's mother Yang Hsiu-ching (???) said it gave Tsai justice.
"My daughter boarded the helicopter and lost her life. She did not have to board that flight and could have taken a ferry the next day," Yang said, adding that nobody else wanted to board the flight so her daughter had to.
The statement did not stipulate the actual amount of compensation to be paid and Tsai Hsiu-chuan (???), MOCS deputy minister, said that the figure needs to be calculated and should be processed within one or two days.
The 28-year-old Tsai was part of a crew evacuating a patient from Orchid Island aboard a National Airborne Services Corps UH-60M Black Hawk rescue helicopter when it crashed soon after takeoff into waters near the island at around midnight Feb. 5, 2018.
The other people killed included the pilot, the co-pilot, the flight engineer, the patient and a family member of the patient.
Public outcry erupted when the review committee session for Tsai's compensation was originally scheduled to be conducted in May at the earliest because a report on the cause of the crash has not yet been released by the Aviation Safety Council.
The matter also caught the attention of Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) who criticized the situation, saying that it was very unreasonable that the accident report has still not been prepared and compensation not paid.
In addition, Executive Yuan spokesperson Kolas Yotaka also expressed her disappointment and urged the Examination Yuan, which governs the MOCS, to quickly finalize related procedures to allow compensation to be paid.
Meanwhile, Control Yuan members Chang Wu-shou (???), Tsai Chung-yi (???) and Wang Mei-yu (???) have also called for an investigation into why the MOCS has taken so long to process the compensation, with Wang describing the situation as "too ridiculous."
Following the backlash, the MOCS apologized and rescheduled the meeting which was held Wednesday. (Wang Cheng-chung, Lee Shien-feng and William Yen)
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel
