Bio

Su Mingcheng was a Taiwanese tour bus driver. He worked driving buses that carried groups of mainland Chinese tourists.

He drove for a team called Red Coral Bus Team. He was the driver of a bus with the license plate number 197-EE on routes to and from the airport area.

Murder Story

On July 19, 2016, at 12:57, a tour bus carrying mainland Chinese tourists caught fire on National Road No. 2 in Taoyuan. The bus was about 4.2 km from Taoyuan airport when the fire started. The vehicle kept moving for about 2.8 to 2.9 kilometers. It first hit a left guardrail, then swerved and hit a right guardrail.

After the crash, passengers from Dalian moved to the back door to escape. The rear door was jammed by the broken guardrail and could only open about 10 cm. Smoke filled the bus quickly. A gravel truck driver saw the fire and told a policeman named Lin. The policeman and the truck driver tried to break windows and use extinguishers. They could not rescue the people inside.

The fire was put out at 13:21. By then all 26 people on the bus were dead. The dead included the driver, Su Mingcheng, the tour guide Zheng Kun Wen, and 24 mainland Chinese tourists. Many bodies were found stacked near the escape door behind five seat rows. The bus was heavily burned and only charred remains were left.

Investigators found that the bus had eight escape doors but the doors had built-in locks that passengers did not know how to use. Emergency windows were hard to break because of thick smoke. Initial inspections noted wiring, a possible short circuit, and a transformer change from 24 volts to 110 volts for appliances on the bus. Investigators also raised questions about the tour company’s low-cost operations and safety standards.

Later, the Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office concluded that the driver had deliberately set the bus on fire and then crashed it. Tests showed signs consistent with intentional arson. On September 10, prosecutors found Su guilty of premeditated arson and self-immolation. They noted that his family had been aware of his desire to commit suicide.

On July 29, investigators also reported that the driver had been suspected of drunk driving before. There was discussion of possible murder-suicide and self-immolation during the investigation. Families of the victims from mainland China were among the earliest to suspect deliberate arson.

The passengers and guide had insurance in Taiwan and mainland China. Initially, each deceased person was compensated about NT$5.65 million. Later compensations rose to about NT$9.04 million per person. Fifty-nine relatives from mainland China went to Taiwan to handle cremation and settlements. Most families signed settlement agreements, and one family continued legal proceedings. A public memorial was held in Dalian on July 29 for some of the victims and their families.

In addition to the 2016 case, Su had a prior legal case from October 11, 2013. While guiding a group in Hualien City, a sexual assault on a female occurred. The Hualien District Court sentenced him to five years in prison. He appealed, and a second trial was underway on June 24, 2016.