Wang Xin-fu (王信福) is the oldest man on death row in Taiwan and might be executed at any time for a crime in 1990 that he did not commit.
With the case taking place during a period with no presumption of innocence and laws rooted in authoritarian policing, Wang was already a dead man walking when his case was heard in 2006.
Before and during the 1990s, despite the end of martial law imposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the legal and police system was still built around suppression tactics first seen in Taiwan during the White Terror era, which discriminated against citizens that dissented, or appeared to dissent, against the government.
These strategies started in 1955 when Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) regime established the Measures for Banning Rogues During the Period of Martial Law in Taiwan Province (臺灣省戒嚴時期取締流氓辦法). These laws were used to arbitrarily arrest anyone who appeared to be a rebel.
Wang was one of many oppressed by them, as he tended to wear floral shirts and had long hair.
People like Wang would be singled out by police officers and sent to Pingtung County’s Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) to be disciplined.
From 1971 to 1987, he was forced to work intensive manual labor jobs that common people would not be willing to do.
On Aug. 10, 1990, to celebrate his girlfriend’s pregnancy, Wang and his friends had dinner at the Captain Karaoke establishment in Chiayi County, where an unexpected shooting occurred and two people died.
On Dec. 4 that year, the first trial began at the Chiayi District Court. Two suspects, Chen Rong-jie (陳榮傑) and Li Qing-lin (李慶臨), were tried, but not Wang.
From this trial it was clear that Chen had shot the two victims. The question that remained was who ordered Chen to do so.
The Criminal Code stipulates that those who conspire to kill a person are also culpable for it.
Li was Chen’s boss, so the assumption would be that Li ordered the killing. Chen and Li denied the latter’s involvement, despite the murder weapon belonging to Li.
Prosecuters charged Wang and others with “serial murder.”
Wang did not stand trial, as he had escaped to China, where he remained for more than 10 years.
Wang ran away because he had little trust in the judicial system. He had already been labeled as a “bad guy” and feared that the label would make due process impossible.
After living in China for more than a decade, he returned to Taiwan in 2006 for medical treatment and was arrested upon entry.
By the time that the case was tried again, important witnesses could not be summoned to testify and material evidence was lacking. The most important witness, Chen, was executed in 1992 at the age of 20.
The state-administered death of the most important witness diminished Wang’s chance to cross-examine exculpatory evidence against him.
Furthermore, witnesses said that their previous testimonies were extracted by prosecutors through intimidation and torture.
The result was an insufficient understanding of the case and lack of evidence that Wang was involved.
However, the court disregarded the defendant’s right to litigate and sentenced Wang to death, citing Chen’s inconsistent confession and other doubtful evidence.
On July 27, 2011, the Supreme Court dismissed Wang’s appeal and the case was settled.
Lawyers have filed motions for a retrial, extraordinary appeals and constitutional interpretation petitions, all of which have been rejected.
Wang is still being held in a detention center in Tainan and is at risk of being executed at any time.
For those who are interested in Wang’s case, the movie Judging Wang Xin-fu (審判王信福), which illustrates his trial, is now available with English subtitles.
The next showings are today from 1pm to 3pm at Or Lightbox in Hsinchu City and on April 23 from 3pm to 5pm at the Miaobei Art Center in Maioli County.
Information on the case can also be found on the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty’s Web site.
Maria Wilkinson is a research intern at the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty.
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