Minister of Justice Luo Ying-shay (羅瑩雪) yesterday said that she decided to carry out the execution of Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) because the case had unsettled the public and caused much fear regarding safety in public places, that she was just doing her job and that Cheng had brought the death sentence on himself.
Many questions were being raised regarding Luo’s role and her decisionmaking after Tuesday night’s execution of Cheng, who was convicted of killing four people and injuring 22 in a stabbing spree on a Taipei mass rapid transit system train in May 2014, as she had only two days left in office before the resignation of the Cabinet today ahead of the incoming government taking over on Friday next week.
Luo said her ministry made the decision after receiving the official documents from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
“It was I who decided to carry out the execution of Cheng Chieh ahead of other pending cases. This case damaged our society and made people fear for their personal safety in public places, so it had to be prioritized ahead of other cases. My colleagues in the justice ministry all supported this decision,” Luo said.
She said that the evidence was clear to everyone, there was no likelihood of a wrong conviction and the ministry wanted to deter copycat crimes.
“The death sentence was given by Cheng Chieh to himself. His crime was so serious that even those judges who favored abolishing capital punishment supported it. Cheng was given four death sentences, as well as being convicted of other offenses of causing intentional injury. What he did gave the judges no choice but to hand down the death sentences,” she said.
Luo also said she was doing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) minister of justice-designate Chiu Tai-shan (邱太三) a favor by carrying out the execution.
“I know that quite a few DPP officials are in favor of abolishing capital punishment, so Chiu might have had difficulty deciding whether to carry out the order on this case. I took the decision, which is good for everyone concerned, and took the problem off Chiu’s hands,” Luo said.
Cheng’s was the 12th execution order the minister had signed since taking office in September 2013.
Officials also provided more details on the procedures at the Taipei Detention Center on Tuesday, where Cheng was informed of his fate at about 8pm and then was given his last meal, a stewed pork boxed meal with rice and vegetables.
Cheng said he was in fear of feeling pain, so a general anaesthesia was administered to him by medical staff and, after falling unconscious, he was placed face down on a mattress.
The executioner shot him from behind, targeting a marked-out circle indicating his heart.
It took three shots before the coroner verified Cheng’s death, officials said.
Huang Chih-hao (黃致豪), one of Cheng’s defense lawyers, said that as soon as he heard the announcement on Tuesday, he called the ministry to request a stay of execution, but the official who answered the telephone told him: “We will carry out the law as required.”
“I don’t know why there was such a rush for the Ministry of Justice to carry out the execution,” Huang said.
New Power Party legislators had mixed reactions over the execution.
“The people who have the most authority to comment on [Cheng’s] death sentence are those who were injured and their families,” NPP Legislator Hung Tzu-yung (洪慈庸) said, adding that the issue she cared most about was how to build a more effective social safety net.
“I feel that the Ministry of Justice should not have been so sudden and arbitrary in carrying out the sentence,” NPP Legislator Freddie Lim (林昶佐) said, calling for the establishment of a more transparent, legally defined decisionmaking process.
“While the sentence was carried out much more rapidly than in previous cases, given that it is already completed, I feel the focus of discussion should be placed on how to more effectively prevent crime,” NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) said, reiterating that the party has no official position on the death penalty, while members hold differing views on its effectiveness in deterring crime
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or