Army removes brigade commander after soldier’s apparent suicide

The Army has removed the commander of a Hsinchu-based brigade amid an ongoing investigation into allegations that one of the unit’s soldiers took her own life after being bullied by her peers.

The Army Command Headquarters said in a news release yesterday that the commander of the 206th Brigade and the brigade’s director of political warfare, both colonels, had been removed from their posts after an internal investigation found them to have been derelict in their duties in connection with the death of a lieutenant, surnamed Wang (王).

Civilian prosecutors have also launched an investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding Wang’s death, it said, adding the Army would cooperate with prosecutors and take responsibility for the incident.

Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo, center, speaks to reporters at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.

Photo: Chen Chih-cheng, Taipei Times

The statement came a day after the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) called on the Ministry of National Defense and the Army to release the findings of their investigations into Wang’s alleged suicide and whether it was related to workplace bullying within the brigade.

Wang was found dead on Sept. 30 after falling from a building at the 206th Brigade in what was suspected to be a suicide.

KMT Legislator Hsu Chiao-hsin (徐巧芯) said Wang’s older brother had told her that Wang had been subjected to verbal bullying by her peers in the brigade, which ultimately led to her taking her own life.

KMT Legislator Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷), said 19 suicides had been reported in the military so far this year, calling on the ministry to investigate the cases.

The two lawmakers also called on Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to apologize and take responsibility for the recurring military suicides and his ministry’s failure to protect service members.

Meanwhile, an officer serving with the Army’s 542nd Combined Arms Brigade suffered second-degree burns to his face and limbs after an M109A7 self-propelled howitzer he was in caught fire for unknown reasons during a training session at the Hsinchu-based unit yesterday.

The officer, surnamed Lee (李), was immediately taken to Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital for emergency treatment. His injuries were not life-threatening, the Army quoted doctors as saying in a separate press release.

The Army said a fire truck was dispatched to extinguish the blaze.

An ad hoc investigative committee was formed to determine the cause of the incident, it added.