BY KHT Staff. AI image for illustration only.
KAOHSIUNG — A woman in Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District (楠梓區) has been sentenced after throwing a bag of household garbage toward a moving collection truck and accidentally injuring a sanitation worker.
The China Times reports that according to a ruling from the Ciaotou District Court (橋頭地方法院), the incident occurred in April 2025 when a city garbage truck was slowly entering a narrow neighborhood lane while sanitation workers stood at the rear of the vehicle preparing to collect trash.
The woman, identified in court documents by the pseudonym “Xiao Xuan,” attempted to toss her garbage bag into the truck’s open rear compartment before the vehicle had fully stopped. Witness accounts and surveillance footage showed she swung her arm backward and threw the bag forward “using inertia,” in a motion resembling a basketball shot.
Instead of landing inside the truck, however, the bag struck a sanitation worker standing beside the rear loading area, hitting his left thigh. The worker immediately shouted at the woman and later sought medical treatment, where doctors diagnosed a thigh contusion.
During the trial, the woman argued that the worker was wearing long pants and that household garbage bags are usually light, saying she did not believe the throw could cause injury.
Judges reviewed surveillance footage and concluded that the woman did not intend to injure the worker but acted negligently by throwing the bag toward a moving vehicle. Because the two sides did not settle, the court found her guilty of negligent injury.
She was sentenced to 15 days of detention, which can be commuted to a NT$15,000 fine. The case may still be appealed.
