Old Clothes Piled on Kaoping River Floodplain for 5 Years; Court Says No Need for Evidence Preservation, Urges Cleanup

(CNA, Kaohsiung, May 19, by reporter Chang Yi-Lian) Used clothes have been dumped on the high-water floodplain of the Kaoping River in Kaohsiung's Dashu District for five years. The Ciaotou District Court stated today that there is no need for evidence preservation and it had ordered the defendants to clean up the site as soon as it took the case. The Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau said it will legally require the perpetrator to clear the site within a deadline. The Kaohsiung City Government Environmental Protection Bureau stated yesterday that it had sent a written inquiry to the Ciaotou District Court on the 13th to confirm if evidence preservation was still necessary for this case, and had called the court yesterday to request a prompt reply. If it is confirmed that continuous preservation is not needed, they will immediately require the perpetrator to complete the cleanup operation within a time limit according to the law. In response, the Ciaotou District Court indicated this morning via a message that in the trial concerning the piled waste clothes in Dashu District, it was determined that there was no need for evidence preservation. Since taking the case, the court has ordered the defendants to clean up as soon as possible and has never used evidence preservation as a reason to prohibit cleanup. The court stated that the defendants have already submitted a cleanup plan which is under review by the Environmental Protection Bureau, and cleanup can proceed once it is approved. Additionally, the court recently received a letter from the Kaohsiung EPA and will promptly reply that evidence preservation is no longer necessary for this case. The Kaohsiung Environmental Protection Bureau stated in the afternoon that it has not yet received any cleanup plan voluntarily submitted by the defendants. It will subsequently demand the perpetrator to immediately clear the waste within a deadline in accordance with Article 71 of the Waste Disposal Act. The case began in September 2022 (ROC 111), when the Kaohsiung EPA caught a perpetrator surnamed Pan illegally transporting and dumping about 80 tons of a company's used clothes on the Kaoping River floodplain behind the Zhuliao Water Intake Station in Dashu District. The case, involving a violation of the Waste Disposal Act, was transferred for prosecution in November 2022. Subsequently, the Renwu Precinct of the Kaohsiung City Police Department sent the case to the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office in April 2023 (ROC 112). The prosecutors concluded their investigation and filed an indictment in September 2024 (ROC 113), and the case is currently being tried by the Ciaotou District Court.