Parents of 19-year-old ordered to pay accident victim

Taiwan's civil law sets the age of consent at 20, and states that if a minor breaks a law, the legal representatives - parents or guardians — can be held jointly accountable.

　　Since the, Liu Chi-ming, was to be 20 years old in seven months, the verdict seemed strange for punishing Liu's parents for not fulfilling the obligation of supervision, said Li Kuo-yuen, the attorney for Liu.

Li asked the court to instruct parents on exactly how to supervise minor children, “Does this mean the parents have to sit in the backseat everyday, give kids a ride everyday, or forbid children from driving?” Li inquired.

The two women that Liu impacted, Tsai Chiu-mei, 52, and Tsai Yi-hsuan, 47, were unable to continuing their work as street vendors after the accident. Although Tsai Yi-hsuan recovered from several fractures, her elder sister now relies on a wheelchair due to a wounded leg.

According to the verdict, Tsai Yi-hsuan was riding a scooter from Dajia to Chingsui with her sister in the backseat when Liu cut her off from the left side. Liu slightly collided with Tsai's scooter and caused her crush at 10 p.m. on Mar. 23, 2007.

Defending themselves, Liu's parents' pointed out that their son obtained a driver's license at the age of 18. But the court said that the issuing of a driver's license is just a measure that the government uses to control traffic safety, parents still have the responsibilities of supervising.

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