During a proceeding yesterday at Taichung District Court, accused murderer and cannibal Chen Chin-huo (
"I'll be executed anyway when the time comes, so I might as well admit to what I did," Taichung District Court spokesman Tang Kwang-yi (唐光義) quoted Chen as saying.
"Today was the first time he has admitted to crimes in court and the first time he has said he is sorry," Tang said.
"He asked the judges to deliver a message to the victim's family saying that he was sorry."
According to Tang, Chen insisted during the arraignment -- whose focus was Kwang Teh-chiang (
Kwang insisted, as he has in the past, that it was Chen who killed Shih.
On Wednesday, psychiatrists from Taichung Veterans Hospital delivered the results of a psychiatric analysis of Chen and Kwang that the court had requested. The report stated that the two men are not insane -- meaning that judges can send them to death row if they are convicted.
"Chen clearly knew what he was doing," said Cho Liang-chen (卓良珍), a psychiatrist at the hospital.
"We would call him a sick person, not an insane one," Cho said.
Chen and Kwang allegedly raped and killed Shih on Dec. 7 last year when she went to Chen's motorcycle shop on business.
Also on Wednesday, forensic scientists delivered an analysis of body parts that the police discovered in the septic tank at Chen's residence. The scientists concluded that the body parts were Shih's.
The body parts were discovered on April 21 when Taichung judges Hsu Hsu-sheng (
They discovered a number of body parts -- though they determined that some parts of the body were missing. They also found Shih's identification cards, her underwear, her pants, her purse and a razor that Chen and Kwang allegedly used to cut up her body.
During previous conversations with psychiatrists, Chen has allegedly said that he ate parts of Shih's body -- but he has also denied doing so. He has also allegedly told psychiatrists that he had previously eaten human flesh.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost