TAIPEI -- Two Taiwan doctors were charged on Wednesday with covering up SARS cases that allowed the deadly virus to spread unchecked through a Taipei hospital, leading to the island's first and worst outbreak.

Prosecutors sought an eight-year sentence for Wu Kang-wen, the former superintendent of the Taipei Municipal Ho Ping Hospital, and Lin Jung-ti, the hospital's head of infectious diseases.

The hospital infections in April helped turn the island into the world's third-worst hit area after China and Hong Kong, with 697 infections and 83 deaths.

"The investigation shows the defendants neglected their duties and failed to take necessary infection control measures, causing the deaths of several medical workers and allowing the epidemic to spread," Taipei District Court prosecutor Chen Hon-da told a news conference.

"Their negligence traumatizes the families of the victims, affects the country's international image and economic development," Chen said, reading the bill of indictment, Reuters reported.

"Public confidence in the healthcare system has been severely hit as well." Wu and Lin have denied a cover-up but they could not be reached for comment after the indictment.

The World Health Organization lifted a month-long warning against travel to the island on Tuesday. Taiwan reported no new SARS infections for a third straight day on Wednesday. Whispers of hospital cover-ups started to make the rounds in May after Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian ordered an investigation into why the Ho Ping outbreak had been allowed to continue unchecked.

More than 90 percent of Taiwan's SARS cases were linked to hospital infections, leading to five hospitals and several doctors being fined for covering up cases.