Lawmakers and rights groups yesterday called for a retrial or an extraordinary appeal for death row inmate Cheng Hsin-tze (鄭性澤), who was convicted of murdering a police officer in a case activists called “an obvious miscarriage of justice.”
“No clear evidence proved that Cheng shot a police officer in Fongyuan District (豐原), Greater Taichung, on Jan. 5, 2002, but he was still given the death penalty,” Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) told a press conference.
There were numerous flaws in the handling of the crime scene and the interrogation, and the judges presiding over the case were ignorant of evidence favoring the defendant, lawyer Law Bing-ching (羅秉成) said.
Cheng was accused of killing police officer Su Hsian-pi (蘇憲丕) with a Glock handgun in a shootout at a KTV, where Cheng, Luo Wu-hsiung (羅武雄) and four other men were partying. Luo also died in the shootout.
Cheng’s conviction was based on a confession, allegedly extracted through torture, and the testimony of witnesses, Law said.
Police investigators failed to take photographs of the crime scene, note the positions of the guns involved, collect fingerprints from the guns or perform ballistic analysis, the lawyer added.
However, throughout the 21 court proceedings relating to the case, the judges failed to recognize these errors, he said.
Citing the “Hsichih Trio” case, in which three former death row inmates were cleared of murder charges on Sept. 1, but only after 21 years of trials and appeals, Law said Cheng’s case “was simpler” and “it did not take a genius to know there were many things wrong in the investigation.”
A ballistic analysis would be enough to prove that Cheng did not fire one shot and a blood splatter analysis would also show that Cheng could not possibly have changed his position after being shot in the leg and fired at Su as the police investigators claimed, Law said.
“But those reports, along with the police department’s video recordings, have been missing from start to finish,” the lawyer said.
That was why legislators and rights groups demanded that the police submit all available information and a retrial be held, Law said.
DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) appealed to Prosecutor-General Huang Shih-ming (黃世銘), saying Huang “would not be comfortable with signing Cheng’s execution order.”
“If the Hsichih Trio could be proved innocent after 21 years in a case which was much more complicated than Cheng’s, I don’t understand why Cheng does not at least deserve a retrial,” DPP Legislator Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS