Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday they were seeking the death penalty for the man accused of an election-eve shooting that wounded former vice-president Lien Chan’s (連戰) son, Sean Lien (連勝文), and killed a bystander.
The suspect, Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉), was indicted on charges of murder, attempted murder and illegal possession of firearms, Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office spokeswoman Chen Cheng-fen (陳正芬) said at a press conference.
“We demand the death penalty for the suspect because he has shown no remorse and he committed a grave offence that seriously affected social order and Taiwan’s image for holding fair elections,” she said, adding that prosecutors had concluded at the end of their 57-day investigation that Lin acted alone.
Photos: CNA, TV still provided by the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office
The spokeswoman said the prosecutors hope to make an example of Lin by requesting the most severe punishment to help to curb -election-related violence. The defense has yet to reveal its arguments.
Lin was arrested at the scene after allegedly shooting Sean Lien in the face at a November campaign rally for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) New Taipei City councilor candidate Chen Hung-yuan (陳鴻源).
The spokeswoman said the bullet that struck Sean Lien’s left cheek exited near his right temple and then struck and killed a bystander, 29-year-old Huang Yun-sheng (黃運聖).
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times, TV still provided by the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office
Prosecutors said Lin, who had some personal disputes with Chen Hung-yuan’s father, Chen Ming--hsiung (陳明雄), apparently made a mistake and shot Sean Lien instead of Chen Hung-yuan.
“The suspect tried several times to confront Chen Ming-hsiung, but he was rejected each time. He felt Chen Ming-hsiung looked down on him so he wanted him to experience the pain of losing a son,” the spokeswoman said.
However, Lin said he only knew Chen Hung-yuan’s face from election posters and flags, and he mistook Sean Lien for the candidate because Lien was standing in the middle of the campaign rally stage, the spokeswoman added.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times, TV still provided by the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office
At the press conference, prosecutors released footage of the shooting. It showed Chen Hung-yuan standing in the middle of the stage, with Sean Lien to his left. As Sean Lien was about to address the audience, he switched position with Chen Hung-yuan.
A few seconds passed before Lin rushed onto the stage from behind. The footage showed Lin did not see Sean Lien’s face as he hastily approached Sean Lien from behind and aimed at him with a pistol.
The footage showed Lin firing the gun at Lien, and as he tried to fire another shot, he was stopped by another man on the stage.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times, TV still provided by the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office
Sean Lien, a member of the KMT’s Central Committee, was rushed to a hospital for emergency surgery and released after 10 days of treatment.
Democratic Progressive Party lawmakers said the incident — which took place only hours before voters went to the polls for the five special municipality elections — led to an outpouring of sympathy votes for KMT candidates.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times, TV still provided by the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office
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