Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Thursday said they are seeking the death penalty for Chang Yen-wen (張彥文), who stalked his girlfriend after their relationship ended and allegedly stabbed her to death on a street in Taipei City in September.
Following the indictment, the Taipei District Court on Friday held a bail hearing on Chang and ruled that the 29-year-old, a graduate of National Taiwan University, be detained.
An autopsy report on the victim, a 22-year-old female teacher surnamed Lin (林), suggested that the woman was stabbed 47 times to her limbs, neck and chest area, and left to die on the street from severed arteries and massive bleeding.
The indictment said Chang, after stabbing Lin with a fruit knife that he bought a few days earlier, allegedly removed her underwear to kiss her genitalia.
The indictment said Chang’s “savage and perverse” attack on a defenseless young woman showed extreme cruelty and was devoid of any humane feelings, and is therefore seeking the death penalty for the crime.
Chang was indicted on murder and sexual assault charges, along with offenses relating to privacy, breaking and entering, intimidation and one count of desecration of a corpse.
Local media reported that while in detention Chang has stated his wish to apologize to Lin’s family and sent longing love messages to Lin in her afterlife by copying out Buddhist sutra text and burning the papers.
However, netizens have commented with disgust and indignation, saying that Chang was playacting in an attempt to fool the judges, so that he could escape capital punishment and to sway the decision in favor of a lighter jail term.
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