Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) — who killed four people and injured 22 in a stabbing frenzy on a Taipei MRT train in 2014 — was executed at 8:47pm last night at the Taipei Detention Center (臺北看守所), Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang (陳明堂) said last night.
The Ministry of Justice signed the execution order at 5pm yesterday, and Cheng was executed with three gunshots at the center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), Chen said.
Legal experts said the process must have been sped up and expedited by ministry officials, because it was an unusually short time — 18 days — between the Supreme Court upholding Cheng’s death sentence on April 22 and the execution taking place.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Cheng’s lawyers headed to the ministry last night following the announcement to protest against what they called a “rushed decision,” as they were still preparing to file an extraordinary appeal against the death sentence.
Some political commentators have questioned whether there might be a political motive for carrying out the execution so soon, saying that Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) and President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) are trying to calm rising discontent regarding recent judicial decisions.
When speaking to the media yesterday afternoon, Luo said she did not know when Cheng would be executed.
Cheng reportedly told the police directly after his MRT stabbing rampage that he hoped he would be given the death sentence for his crimes and said he had been planning a mass murder since he was in fifth grade.
Cheng said he was under great pressure from his parents and often contemplated suicide, but he did not have the courage to kill himself.
“I had to murder people so I would be convicted for murder and given the death sentence. Only then would my miserable life end,” Cheng reportedly said.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force
RSS