Kaohsiung Women's Prison yesterday said convicted murderer Hung Hsiao-hui (洪曉慧) will not qualify to apply for parole until this September.
According to the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法), an inmate applying for parole must have completed at least half of his or her sentence.
Hung was sentenced to 18 years behind bars for murdering her classmate.
She began her 18-year sentence on Jan. 14, 1999.
"She completed half of her sentence this March and will qualify to apply for parole in September," said Yeh Chen-ling (葉貞伶), deputy warden of the Kaohsiung Women's Prison.
Hung was a graduate student at National Tsing Hua University's Radiation Organism Department. She murdered her classmate and love rival Hsu Chia-chen (許嘉真) in the lab on March 7, 1998, because Hsu was in love with Hung's boyfriend, Tseng Huan-tai (曾煥泰). After killing Hsu, Hung damaged Hsu's body with aqua regia.
After the murder, both Hung and Tseng, who was also a graduate student, dropped out of National Tsing Hua University.
Tseng never married and is now working as a computer technician in Taipei.
In addition to her prison sentence, Hung was ordered to pay NT$24.17 million (US$732,000) in compensation to Hsu's parents. Hung began her jail time in Taoyuan Women's Prison and was transferred to Kaoshiung in March 2001.
The deputy warden said yesterday that Hung has quit smoking, become a Christian and been baptized, and participated in various kinds of activities during her prison time.
She has gotten along well with fellow inmates, Yeh said.
If Hung's good behavior continues, Yeh said a parole application would be filed for Hung.
"I can only assure you we will do what we are supposed to do when the time comes," Yeh said. "The regulations say I cannot tell you when she will be released."
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