A 51-year-old Taipower employee from Changhua County, Yeh Sheng-chin, recently went hiking in the Southern Section 3 of the Central Mountain Range but had an accident. Emergency services deployed a large team for a mountain rescue and finally located Yeh. However, he unexpectedly struck camp and left without notifying anyone, stranding the rescuers in the mountains and nearly costing them their lives. Later, he sought help again, was taken to hospital, but refused medical checks and went home on his own. What’s infuriating is that the NT$1.5 million rescue cost involving personnel and helicopters may be paid by the public.
Yeh Sheng-chin started his climb from Ruisui, Hualien, on the 1st of this month and was expected to descend on the 10th. On the 12th, his wife called for help. The Nantou County Fire Bureau dispatched a large number of personnel for the rescue mission. On the 14th, they found Yeh on Wushuang Mountain. Due to the outer circulation of Typhoon Mangkhut affecting the area, the weather on the mountain was severe, so the team set up camp for the night. The next day, however, they discovered that Yeh had struck camp and fled, disappearing without a trace. Seven rescuers searched for him on a high mountain at 3,000 meters altitude with no water supply, exposed to wind and rain. Many suffered from cramps and altitude sickness, vomiting along the way, with the situation becoming critical at one point.
After the rescuers were airlifted down by helicopter, Yeh’s wife actually called for help again the previous day (the 17th), claiming Yeh’s condition was critical. The Air Force’s Black Hawk helicopter had to take off once more. Upon locating Yeh, he refused to cooperate, repeatedly trying to remove his safety harness, putting the crew in danger. After being brought down the mountain and sent to hospital, Yeh was walking around without issue, refused to be hospitalized for checks, took a painkiller injection, and then insisted on going home. This angered the fire station deputy chief, who stormed into the emergency room and yelled at Yeh, “Our lives don’t matter?” and “What if we die? All for rescuing someone who wasn’t even in trouble?”
But Yeh Sheng-chin’s response was even more infuriating. He simply said, “Thanks, I don’t know, not clear,” leaving everyone stunned. It wasn’t until the media pressed him that he replied with, “Stop asking, leave me alone.” Netizens harshly criticized him, with veteran climbers in the mountaineering community condemning him as the “bad apple that ruins the bunch.” However, since Yeh Sheng-chin’s climb was legal, the NT$1.5 million rescue cost may now be borne by all taxpayers.
Yeh Sheng-chin was later exposed by netizens. He was listed on Taiwan’s “Hundred Peaks Celebrity List” in 2016 and is a senior employee of Taipower with 27 years of service. According to Apple Daily, Yeh had previously requested helicopter rescue four years ago, citing a sprained ankle. At that time, the Sea Gull helicopter had to make three trips before finally rescuing him. Netizens questioned whether he was treating helicopters like taxis and wondered how such shortcut descents could still count toward conquering the Hundred Peaks.