The Supreme Court yesterday upheld the death sentence for Lee Hung-chi (李宏基), who was convicted of killing his ex-wife and their daughter in 2014.
Judges deemed there was clear evidence that the murders were premeditated, in the first death penalty verdict handed down since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office. Yesterday’s decision was final.
The case went through the lower courts, with Lee’s lawyers appealing.
After Lee received the verdict, the Supreme Court held a final deliberation to re-examine the evidence and assess the possibility of a wrongful conviction, mistrial or violation of trial procedure.
Lee was convicted after an incident at a kindergarten in Kaohsiung in April 2014.
Lee, then 38, was attempting to take his two daughters from the facility, but his ex-wife blocked him, whereupon he stabbed her at the entrance to the kindergarten as teachers, students and passersby looked on.
Lee then took the elder daughter, aged six, and drove to a mountain area in Hsinchu County where he attempted to commit suicide by burning charcoal in the vehicle with his daughter inside.
However, a police officer came upon the car and rushed them to a local hospital, but the daughter passed away, while Lee survived.
At the initial trial, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled that rehabilitation was possible and gave Lee a 15-year sentence for the murder of his ex-wife and a life sentence for killing his daughter.
In the second trial and subsequent retrial at the high court, Lee received a life term for his ex-wife’s slaying and the death penalty for killing his daughter.
The father and grandfather of the deceased pair celebrated yesterday’s court decision, saying that Lee “should not be allowed rehabilitation” for the murders.
“We want to see Lee get the death penalty for what he did. This decision brings justice,” he said. “If Lee is not executed, then our family could not sleep in peace.”
The father said Lee had shown no remorse and has never apologized for his acts, adding that during the trials Lee threatened to also kill the younger daughter and seek revenge against his ex-wife’s family.
In announcing the decision, the Supreme Court said: “Children are people’s hope for the future. They have independent lives and are not the property of their parents. Parents have an obligation to raise them to adulthood, but have no right to violate their rights.”
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