Alleged killer of entertainer's child yet again in court

TV entertainer Pai Ping-ping (白冰冰) yesterday said at the Taiwan High Court that she still did not understand why the alleged killer of her 17-year-old daughter Pai Hsiao-yen (白曉燕) was originally found not guilty, as the suspect had personally kneeled down and apologized to her when he was arrested.

"To me, his kneeling down in front of me and apologizing meant he was guilty. Even if he did not personally kill my daughter, I believe that he must know something about it," Pai said.

The suspect whom Pai was complaining about is Chang Chih-hui (張志輝). He is the murderer Chen Chin-hsing's (陳進興) brother-in-law.

During the initial trial on Jan. 22, 1998, he was found innocent. During the second trial on Sept. 5 of the same year, Chang received a life sentence. His right to appeal to the Supreme Court was upheld, but his life sentence was retained during the first retrial by the Taiwan High Court.

However, during the second retrial by the same court on Oct. 25, 2001, the judges decided Chang was innocent and released him, but put him on monitored probation.

On behalf of Pai, prosecutors appealed to the Supreme Court and yesterday's hearing was the first hearing of the third retrial.

Pai made her remarks in front of the Taiwan High Court yesterday morning after she walked out of the courtroom.

According to the verdict in the second retrial, Chang was found innocent because there was no damning evidence against him, except for his confession during the police investigation.

However, according to the Code of Criminal Procedures (刑事訴訟法), a suspect's statement can not be regarded as sufficient evidence to prove him or her guilty.