The organiser of a party which saw a fireball rip through a crowd in a Taiwan waterpark leaving 15 dead has been found guilty of negligence and jailed for just under five years.
Lu Chung-chi, owner of Colour Play Asia, was behind the event at Formosa Fun Coast where coloured corn starch being sprayed on partygoers ignited under the heat of stage lights in June 2015, sending them running for their lives and leaving hundreds injured.
He was found guilty of negligence causing death and jailed for four years and ten months as relatives of the victims gathered outside waving banners calling for justice.
Almost 500 partygoers were injured in the blast, more than 200 of them seriously.
Horrific video footage showed revellers - most of them between 18 and 25-years-old - screaming as they tried to escape.
Some were left with more than 90% burns in some cases leading to amputations, with many still enduring painful rehabilitation.
An investigation showed the hottest parts of the stage lights hit temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees Celsius, while the powder's ignition point was just 500 degrees Celsius.
A press statement from the court released after the verdict paid tribute to the young victims of the tragedy.
"Most of the victims were very young and their wonderful lives were about to start. They had beautiful dreams to be realised," it said.
"Because of the explosion, 15 of them lost their lives and most of the survivors suffer tremendous physical and emotional pain and torment.
"Relatives of the deceased suddenly lost their family members and suffered irreparable and excruciating pain and regret," it added.
"The explosion happened due to the negligence of the defendant," the statement said.
The case has angered grieving relatives and the families of the injured as only Lu was indicted over the disaster.
He was one of nine people investigated, including the chairman and president of the water park.
