[Event] Civil Retrial Hearing in the Chen Ching-Kai Case & Volunteer Gathering

Former national handball player Chen Ching-Kai was seriously injured in a traffic accident while studying at National Changhua University of Education. After the accident, his vision deteriorated until the world became a blur, abruptly ending the athletic career he had built as a national-team player. 

Chen Ching-Kai gradually came to terms with his visual impairment and worked hard to rebuild his life. Yet judges concluded that he was not blind and had "faked blindness" to defraud insurers simply because he could still catch a Frisbee, play ball, and write. That conclusion stood despite strong evidence from an expert assessment by National Taiwan University, diagnostic reports from multiple hospitals, and testimony from an orientation-and-mobility instructor who works with blind people. Chen was sentenced to one year and two months in prison. After the criminal judgment became final, three insurers-Nanshan Life (his high-school policy), Mingtai Fire & Marine Insurance (the other driver's compulsory automobile liability insurer), and Cathay Life Insurance (his student insurance at National Changhua University of Education)-filed civil claims seeking repayment of insurance benefits.

After JRF took up Chen's case, the legal team pursued remedies in both the criminal and civil proceedings. His motions for a criminal retrial, however, have twice been denied.

On August 27, 2020, the Civil Division of the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court ruled in the retrial proceeding between Mingtai Fire & Marine Insurance and Chen Ching-Kai that Chen did not have to return the insurance benefits.
The retrial proceeding between Cathay Life Insurance and Chen Ching-Kai is scheduled for a hearing on October 30, 2020. Everyone is welcome to attend and observe the hearing.

The period from now through the end of this year and into next year will be crucial for the Chen Ching-Kai case. We also invite everyone to join us for pizza at noon at the Southern Office of the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, share observations from the court hearing at our volunteer gathering, and discuss our next steps.

Register Online

Court Observation

• Time: October 30 (Fri.), 10:20 a.m.
• Meeting Point: Main Entrance, Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court (No. 586, Mingcheng 3rd Rd., Gushan Dist., Kaohsiung City)

Volunteer Gathering

• Time: October 30 (Fri.), 12:00 noon
• Location: Southern Office, Taiwan Association for Human Rights (7F.-2, No. 312, Zhisheng Rd., Zuoying Dist., Kaohsiung City)