A defendant in an arson case that caused four deaths threw a bottle of water at his attorney and dismissed him after the latter asked the court to suspend a hearing and send the defendant to a hospital to be treated for mental illness.
In the early hours of June 5, 2007, a gasoline bomb was thrown at Hua Xin Cleaners in Kaohsiung City’s Zuoying District (左營), killing four people.
Chen Pei-yuan (陳培元), a university lecturer, was arrested a week later and charged with murder. In June 2008, the Kaohsiung District Court sentenced him to life in prison.
According to the Criminal Code, a person found to be insane should not be convicted for a crime. If a judge concludes that a suspect had a “diminished” understanding of his or her actions, the code allows — but does not require — for a lighter sentence.
The district court ruled that Chen had a diminished understanding of his crime and should be sentenced to prison rather than the death penalty.
Chen’s second trial started at the Taiwan High Court’s Kaohsiung branch yesterday.
Prosecutor Lin Kuo-chuan (林國全) told judges that Chen should receive the death penalty to take responsibility for the four deaths.
A mental health evaluation by a hospital showed that Chen was not insane at the time of the crime, Kuo said.
However, the defendant’s attorney, Weng Kuo-yan (翁國彥), asked the court to suspend the hearing, saying that Chen had a mental disorder and should be sent to a hospital for treatment.
Weng’s remark angered Chen, who threw the bottle at his attorney, hitting him in the chest.
Chen told judges he was dismissing the lawyer, but his mother, who had hired Weng, disagreed.
No ruling was made.
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