Tainan Food Factory Worker Dies Suddenly in Early Morning Hours; Labor Bureau Fines Company NT$40,000

A food factory in Xinhua District, Tainan City, with a capital of NT$21 million and exporting products, experienced the sudden death of a worker named Yan on September 2nd of last year, around 1 AM. Surveillance footage shows Mr. Yan walking towards a machine when his body suddenly swayed. He reached out to grab a cart but fell to the ground, face down. About a minute later, a colleague checked on him and found he was unresponsive. He was sent to the hospital but passed away. The family released the footage, accusing the company of long-term overtime demands. A year after the incident, they have not received an apology from management, and the company's attitude has been indifferent. After an inspection, the Tainan City Labor Bureau determined that the factory had serious issues with overtime work and imposed a fine of NT$40,000 according to the Labor Standards Act. In 2021, the company was fined twice for illegally allowing female workers to work at night and for overtime. The Southern Regional Occupational Safety and Health Center sent the case to the Bureau of Labor Insurance for appraisal. In February of this year, it was determined that the cause of death was not work-related, and the family was notified. The company subsequently issued a statement through its lawyer, citing investigations by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of the Ministry of Labor and the Tainan District Prosecutors Office. They argued that there is "no significant causal relationship" between Mr. Yan's cause of death and his working hours or environment, calling external accusations false. They demanded that netizens delete related content and threatened legal action for damages and restoration of reputation if harm is caused. This case has sparked public discussion about worker overwork and the proportionality of fines. Labor authorities stated they will continue to inspect the company's working hours and labor conditions, and will take legal action if further violations occur. Well... since the appraisal stated there's no direct causal relationship to the cause of death, we can't really say the ruling is wrong. But the company's attitude is really something... are they just not listening to the fines? Hard to say 🤔