Taipei, Nov. 25 (CNA) An 18-year-old Taichung student who was brutally assaulted after a minor traffic accident earlier this month and hospitalized in critical condition was discharged on Thursday.
After being beaten and hospitalized on Nov. 7, the student at Taichung’s Feng Chia University surnamed Sung (宋) was finally discharged from the Taichung Veterans General Hospital.
The teenager was hospitalized in a coma following a serious assault after the car he was driving grazed a Maserati when switching lanes at the intersection of Taiwan Boulevard and Henan Road in Taichung.
A dash-cam video showed that the student had apologized, but was soon attacked and beaten unconscious by several men without being able to explain himself.
Sung’s attackers were 25-year-old Lee Wei-lin (李韋霖), the driver of the Maserati; the vehicle’s owner, 23-year-old Chang Tun-liang (張敦量); and 19-year-old Chen Chin-hao (陳勁豪), a passenger.
The trio was seen on the video angrily yelling death threats while beating Sung to the brink of death.
The trio was eventually detained incommunicado, with authorities investigating them for attempted murder, offenses against public order, threatening behavior, and intentional injury.
After spending over a week in a critical state in the hospital’s intensive care unit, Sung eventually regained consciousness and was transferred to the general ward of the hospital on Nov. 15.
Andrew Shen (沈炯祺), director of the hospital’s Neurology Institute, had previously said that Sung had suffered an intracranial hemorrhage and would still need to undergo rehabilitation.
Shen also said that Sung’s auditory nerve and optic nerve were not damaged, meaning that he was on the road to recovery.
As Sung was discharged from the hospital on Thursday, he presented Shen and other medical staffers with flowers and a thank-you card.
In response, Shen encouraged Sung to make a fast recovery by observing a healthy lifestyle during his rehabilitation.
Shen also assured Sung that follow-ups with various specialists have all been scheduled, meaning that Sung would most likely return to school soon and finish his studies.
Sung’s mother, who acted as his proxy during his coma, also thanked the team at the hospital for saving her son.
She said that while Sung’s hearing had been getting better, the biggest concern was his eyes, where problems such as strabismus and diplopia had been diagnosed.
She added that Sung would need further consultations with neurosurgeons, eye doctors, and ear, nose and throat specialists in the future.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel
