The Shilin District Court approved an application by prosecutors for Wang Ching-yu (王景玉), the suspect in the killing of a four-year-old girl in Taipei on Monday, to be detained incommunicado before he was taken to the Taipei Detention Center yesterday morning.
Officials at Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office said they plan to indict the 33-year-old Wang on murder charges, as the judicial investigation continued into the decapitation of the child in front of her mother on a street in Neihu District (內湖).
“There is sufficient evidence against the suspect, surnamed Wang, and due to flight risk and possible tampering with evidence, an application was made to the Shilin District Court for the suspect to be detained incommunicado, which was granted,” a prosecutors’ office statement said.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
It said that prosecutors have contacted executives from the non-governmental Association for Victims Support, which sent representatives to the girl’s home yesterday to offer legal assistance and explain procedures of seeking financial compensation.
The random attack against a toddler has stirred up public debate on issues of safety in public, problems with the nation’s criminal justice system, enforced medical treatment for mental patients and capital punishment.
Wang’s father spoke to reporters yesterday, expressing regret for what happened and saying that he and his family are co-operating with the police on the investigation.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He offered an apology to the family of the girl, surnamed Liu (劉).
The father also said his son had a history of mental illness and had sought psychiatric treatment at Taipei City Hospital’s Songde Branch, adding that his son had been unemployed for a long time and relied on his parents’ financial support.
Due to the media spotlight on the case and public outrage, Taipei City Police took the unusual step of releasing preliminary details of its background investigation, confirming that Wang had a record of mental health issues, and called on the nation’s health system to improve its management, monitoring and follow-up treatment of patients with serious metal disorders.
Photo: Chiu Yi-tung, Taipei Times
It also tried to dispel erroneous reporting about Wang being a habitual user of narcotics.
“Following our investigation, the suspect had only been found in possession of amphetamines in 2006, and he does not have any record of narcotic drug use since then,” according to a statement by the Criminal Investigation Division of Taipei City Police Department.
The Liu family yesterday conducted a Taoist “calling of the soul” ceremony for the young girl at the site where she was killed.
Photo: Taipei Times
The site was lined with with flowers, cards, written messages and other gifts to console the family and to express grief over the murder.
Liu’s mother on Facebook asked the public not to use her daughter’s case to discuss the appropriateness of the abolition of the death penalty.
She also posted a letter in memory for her daughter, in which she wrote: “I really tried hard to pull the offender off you, I really tried to... but you were done. I really wish I could recall something of you, recall our love, recall something, to know that you were worth living. I really miss you.”
The White Rose Social Care Association is planning to hold a mass rally in Taipei on April 9 to push for enforcement of capital punishment in the wake of the crime.
“This kind of random killing shows that Taiwan cannot afford to abolish the death penalty,” association chairwoman Eva Liang (梁毓芳) said. “As Taiwan seldom enforces death sentences now, criminals are not afraid and similar crimes keep happening.
Additional reporting by AFP
TAIWAN PROTECTION MEASURE: US Army General Charles Flynn would not say where in the Asia-Pacific the missiles would be sent, but only that they would arrive in 2024 The US is to send medium-range missiles including the Standard Missile 6 (SM-6) and Tomahawk to the Asia-Pacific next year to deter a Chinese attack on Taiwan, US military news Web site Defense One reported. The report cited comments US Army General Charles Flynn made during the annual Halifax International Security Forum on Nov. 19. “We have tested them and we have a battery or two of them today,” Flynn was quoted as saying. “In [20]24. We intend to deploy that system in your region. I’m not going to say where and when. But I will just say that we will
UNUSUAL UPTICK: There are more flu-like illnesses in northern China than in the past 3 years, but data from Beijing showed that known pathogens are responsible Responding to an uptick in respiratory illnesses in China, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it has instructed international airport and port quarantine centers to raise their alert levels, and plans to issue an alert to healthcare practitioners. The number of flu-like illnesses reported in northern China has been increasing for five consecutive weeks, and is higher than the same period in the past three years, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said. “According to the WHO’s latest statement, issued yesterday, information provided by Chinese government showed that the illnesses were mainly reported among children, and the illnesses were attributed
LOYALTY: The 10 active and retired soldiers betrayed the nation and its people by leaking and passing on military secrets to China, the High Prosecutors’ Office said Ten former and current military officers were yesterday indicted on charges of spying for China, including two who allegedly filmed themselves pledging loyalty to Beijing. The High Prosecutors’ Office requested life imprisonment for the suspects in light of the severity of the crime. The 10 active-duty and retired officers included members of the 601st Brigade of the Aviation Special Forces comprising attack helicopter squadrons and elite combat units in charge of defending northern Taiwan, including Taipei. The other suspects came from Huadong Defense Command, in charge of defending the eastern coast; Kinmen Defense Command, in charge of defending Kinmen and Matsu; and one
‘OPEN TO DIALOGUE’: Her alliance with Vice President William Lai is based on their commitment to preserve the nation’s freedom and democracy, Hsiao Bi-khim said Taiwan should “trust, but verify” reports that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) denied that Beijing plans to invade Taiwan in 2027, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice presidential candidate Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told reporters yesterday. “We anticipate and we hope that Chairman Xi Jinping was sincere when he said there was no timetable” for bringing Taiwan under control by force, said Hsiao, who earlier this week resigned as the representative to the US to join the ticket of DPP nominee, Vice President William Lai (賴清德). Borrowing a phrase from former US president Ronald Reagan — which US President Joe Biden also used after
RSS