The Supreme Court ruled late on Thursday that a highly controversial murder case involving the three men known as the "Hsichih Trio" must return to the Taiwan High Court for retrial because of flaws and deficiencies in the case's previous ruling.
The High Court handed down death sentences on June 29 for the three defendants -- Su Chien-ho (
However, the Supreme Court said in its ruling that the Taiwan High Court judgment was flawed, as the panel of judges handling the case failed to examine the kitchen knife allegedly used in the murder.
The Supreme Court also said the high court judges had hastily closed the case before getting to the bottom of key details.
Each of the three men received two death sentences in a third and final hearing on Feb. 9, 1995, after being convicted of robbery and the murders of Wu and Yeh on March 24, 1991.
The country's then-top prosecutor filed repeated special appeals with the Supreme Court for a retrial, but the appeals were all rejected. After many twists and turns, the Taiwan High Court in May 2000 finally approved an application by the trio's lawyer for a rare retrial of the case.
After more than two years of the retrial, the high court acquitted the three men in January 2003 on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence to prove the defendants' involvement in the killings.
In March that year, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office appealed the ruling and five months later, the Supreme Court revoked the "acquittal" decision and demanded that the high court retry the case.
The retrial ended on May 18 and the panel of judges dealing with the case recorded a "death penalty" verdict on June 29.
Shortly afterwards, the trio's lawyers appealed the case to the Supreme Court.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique