The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it would seek the death penalty for a university student accused of killing four people and wounding nearly two dozen others in a stabbing spree on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit system in May.
Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), 21, was charged with four counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder in connection with the attack on an MRT car on the Bannan Line on May 21.
“The accused’s actions fit the definition of mass murder. His means were ruthless and inhuman, and caused irreparable harm to the victims and their families. We demand the court sentence him to death,” prosecutors said in a statement.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
The prosecutors described Cheng as “antisocial, narcissistic, apathetic and suicidal,” adding that in elementary school, Chang had vowed to “kill people in revenge” after having trouble with classmates.
The prosecutors said that psychological evaluations have shown Cheng was not mentally disordered at the time of the stabbings and that he is fit to stand trial.
Cheng has been detained since the incident.
His parents had called for him to be sentenced to death to help ease the pain inflicted on the victims and their families, calling their son’s actions “unforgivable.”
They made the plea during a tear-filled visit on May 27 to an impromptu shrine to victims of the stabbing spree erected outside the Jiangzicui Station (江子翠) in New Taipei City.
“I hope that the judge will quickly put Cheng on trial and rule on the case, and by doing so, give some consolation to the victims,” Cheng’s father told reporters at the time.
Parents of 26-year-old Chang Cheng-han (張正翰), who was killed in the attack, said that even if Cheng was sentenced to a hundred death penalties, it would not bring back their son.
Chang’s mother, Chang Su-mi (張素密), said that she hopes the government and the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) could establish a task force to assist victims’ families in handling legal and compensation matters.
TRTC is seeking NT$20.61 million (US$687,000) in compensation from Cheng for operational losses after it reported a drop of about 945,000 passengers in the 10 days following the attack.
Additional reporting by Lin Yi-chang
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
‘NOT ALONE’: A Taiwan Strait war would disrupt global trade routes, and could spark a worldwide crisis, so a powerful US presence is needed as a deterrence, a US senator said US Senator Deb Fischer on Thursday urged her colleagues in the US Congress to deepen Washington’s cooperation with Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific partners to contain the global security threat from China. Fischer and other lawmakers recently returned from an official trip to the Indo-Pacific region, where they toured US military bases in Hawaii and Guam, and visited leaders, including President William Lai (賴清德). The trip underscored the reality that the world is undergoing turmoil, and maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific region is crucial to the security interests of the US and its partners, she said. Her visit to Taiwan demonstrated ways the
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS