The trial of the man accused of decapitating a four-year-old girl in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) opened yesterday, with Wang Ching-yu’s (王景玉) defense lawyer saying his client is unfit to stand trial because of a mental disorder.
Wang, 33, is accused of decapitating the girl, nicknamed “Little Lightbulb” (小燈泡), in front of her mother on March 28.
During questioning by a Shilin District Court judge, Wang rambled, giving incoherent and sometimes outlandish answers, and quoting from Chinese mythology and folk religious beliefs.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Wang’s lawyer, Liang Chia-ying (梁家贏), requested that the trial be suspended, saying Wang suffers from a mental disorder.
Liang urged the court to conduct another psychological evaluation of Wang and for other inmates to be called for questioning to attest to his behavior and mental condition in detention.
“Wang is unable to correctly express his ideas and the stuffs he wrote in his notebooks. He has been living in his own world with his own distorted view of history, immersed in Chinese mythology and ancient war battles,” Liang said.
The judge rejected Liang’s arguments, saying the suspect was able to clearly describe details of his action when questioned by police and prosecutors.
Wang seems to have no problem explaining things from his own perspective, and a proper psychological evaluation had already been conducted by medical experts, the judge said.
Observers in the courtroom said it was chilling to hear Wang describe the murder.
“I just took my cleaver, like this, and I stabbed her twice, then the girl’s head broke off,” he said.
The girl’s mother broke down several times, and was seen wiping away her tears. Her lawyer asked if she would like to leave the courtroom temporarily, but she declined and continued to listen to the entire proceeding.
The judge said he would discuss with other judges of the court’s Collegiate Bench whether another psychological evaluation is needed.
He then suspended the hearing and said it would reconvene on July 21.
Some critics have said they do not believe that Wang has a serious mental problem, saying he was just acting in court to escape responsibility for his action and obtain a more lenient punishment.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, the girl’s mother said: “The death of Little Lightbulb is a pain that we can never forget. We have chosen a difficult path, by standing up and sincerely requesting that such tragedies be reduced in the future. We need more effort from the government to patch up the holes in our social safety net.”
“We hope to raise public concern over this issue, so that people can work together and create a safe environment for all children,” she said.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
Johanne Liou (劉喬安), a Taiwanese woman who shot to unwanted fame during the Sunflower movement protests in 2014, returned to Taiwan last night after being deported from the US. She is to stand trial in Taiwan for charges involving embezzlement, fraud and drug crimes. The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said it took her into custody at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and would first question her before transferring her to the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. She was arrested upon disembarking a flight from San Francisco that landed shortly before 7pm. Liou absconded to the US in 2019 after jumping bail
RSS