The Taiwan High Court yesterday reduced the prison sentence of a woman convicted of killing her baby, ruling that she was emotionally unstable when she committed her crime.
The 34-year-old woman, surnamed Chien (簡), told prosecutors that she had an affair with a colleague of her husband’s surnamed Wu (吳) shortly after she married. In May 2008 she found out she was pregnant and suspected Wu was the father.
She gave birth to a baby boy in February last year, but was diagnosed with post-partum depression.
In June, four months after giving birth, she killed the baby, first smashing him into a wall and then stabbing him 51 times. Chien then tried to kill herself.
Prosecutors investigating the case said DNA testing showed Chien’s husband was the father of the baby.
At the first trial, at the Banciao District Court, prosecutors sought a life sentence. The court sentenced Chien to 15 years in prison.
The High Court yesterday reduced the sentence by more than half to seven years.
Judges said in their ruling that they had to consider that Chien had suffered emotionally and regretted her crime, and that she had been diagnosed with psychological disorders including depression and hallucinations and committed the crime when she was emotionally unstable.
The ruling is not final and can be appealed.
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