A pregnant woman in Taiwan suffered a miscarriage while travelling on a bus after the driver made a sudden stop, causing her to fall.
Source: 公視新聞網 on YouTube
According to Mirror Media, the woman, in her 40s, had struggled for years to conceive, ultimately succeeding with in vitro fertilisation.
However, the accident turned her long-awaited joy into sorrow.
On the morning of 15 July, the expectant mother, seven weeks pregnant, was on Bus No. 247 in Taipei.
While swiping her card to get off, the driver, distracted and unaware of the vehicle ahead, suddenly hit the brakes to prevent a collision.
The impact caused the woman to fall, leading to a miscarriage.
ETtoday reported that after the incident, the couple filed a complaint with Taipei’s Public Transportation Office (PTO) but received little support.
Despite their claims that the driver was negligent, the department took no action against the bus company and even refused to provide video footage from the vehicle.
In the end, the couple was offered just NT$6,000 (around S$250) in compensation.
On Thursday (19 Dec), Lee Ming-hsien, a member of the Taipei City Council who is advocating for the couple, criticised the PTO for siding with the bus company, asking:
Is a human life only worth NT$6,000?
An accident assessment report from the Taipei City Traffic Adjudication Office concluded that the bus’s emergency braking was merely a deceleration and part of normal driving.
The main cause of the incident was attributed to the woman’s failure to hold onto the handrail.
However, Mr Lee was dissatisfied with this conclusion and suspected a cover-up, questioning the fairness of the investigation.
Source: TVBS News
He discovered discrepancies between the driver’s statement and the data from the speed recorder, as well as what appeared to be bias in favour of the bus company.
Initially, the company had refused to provide video footage from the bus, placing blame on the victim for not holding onto the handrail.
However, after obtaining the recording, it revealed that the driver was wearing headphones during the ride and only shouted a warning as the emergency stop occurred.
Source: 公視新聞網 on YouTube
The footage prompted Mr Lee to question whether the driver’s distraction could have contributed to the accident.
Despite the clear evidence in the footage, the PTO maintained that neither the driver nor the bus company was at fault and continued to withhold the relevant footage.
Mr Lee strongly criticised its handling of the case, accusing it of covering up for the bus company.
The expectant parents, along with their lawyer, have pledged to continue pushing for a more thorough investigation and a fairer resolution.
In response to the controversy, the public has voiced its support for the couple, calling for authorities to adopt a more transparent and equitable approach to similar cases, ensuring that victims’ rights are properly protected.
Also read: Pregnant woman suffers miscarriage after large tile falls on her in China subway station
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Featured image adapted from 公視新聞網 on YouTube.
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