In a final decision yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that former death row inmate Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強) was not guilty of the 1995 kidnap and murder of a businessman, rejecting an appeal by prosecutors to end a case that has bounced around the court system for more than two decades and become one of the nation’s highest-profile human rights cases.
Prosecutors had appealed a High Court decision last year to overturn Hsu’s guilty verdict.
Accompanied by lawyers and supporters, Hsu fought back tears at a news conference in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“When I heard the ruling, it felt unreal to me; maybe I had heard it wrong,” Hsu said. “My mother will celebrate her birthday soon, and this will be the best gift she could get, because over the past 21 years, she has suffered the most.”
“I wanted to give up this fight, as I had given up on the justice system, but my family and my lawyers persisted; they did not want to give up,” Hsu said. “Some people asked if I had bad fortune, but I do not think so, because I feel lucky to be able to walk out of prison.”
Hsu was originally convicted of the September 1995 kidnap and murder of Huang Chun-shu (黃春樹), whose kidnappers sought a ransom of NT$70 million (US$2.2 million at current exchange rates).
Two men, Huang Chun-chi (黃春棋) and Chen Yi-lung (陳憶隆), who were convicted as being the main perpetrators and sentenced to death, had claimed in their trials that Hsu was an accomplice.
Hsu’s saga saw him handed the death sentence nine times and a term of life imprisonment twice, while there were five extraordinary appeals.
He was incarcerated for 16 years, spending most of the time on death row, before being released on May 19, 2012.
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai’s (黎智英) fraud conviction and prison sentence were yesterday overturned by a Hong Kong court, in a surprise legal decision that comes soon after Lai was jailed for 20 years on a separate national security charge. Judges Jeremy Poon (潘兆初), Anthea Pang (彭寶琴) and Derek Pang (彭偉昌) said in the judgement that they allowed the appeal from Lai, and another defendant in the case, to proceed, as a lower court judge had “erred.” “The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges
RSS