Organiser to face charges over Taiwan water park ‘fireball’
Monday, 19 Oct, 2015
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The organizer of an event which killed 12 partygoers at a Taiwan water park will face charges of negligent homicide.
Lu Chung-ch, owner of Colour Play Asia is being indicted and prosecutors have called for a heavy sentence if convicted.
Lu could face five years in prison.
Colour Play Asia organised the party, attended by about 1,000 young people at Formosa Fun Coast theme park, Taipei.
The crowd was sprayed with coloured powder during the party last June and it ignited, resulting in a huge fireball.
Twelve people were killed and 200 seriously injured, including tourists from mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong and the US.
Five months on, there are still dozens in hospital recovering from serious burns.
Lu was arrested soon after the incident and is now being charged with professional negligence.
Prosecutors believe the heat of stage lights caused the powder to ignite.
"The temperature of the lights was very hot and when the powder came into contact with the lights it caught fire," said prosecutor Chen Hsi-chu.
"He should have been aware of this. He knew of the risk."
Investigations showed the stage lights could reach 1000 degrees Celsius, while the ignition point for the powder was only 500 degrees.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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