A man who has fought for more than three decades to overturn a conviction for robbery yesterday received a chance to clear his name after the Taiwan High Court granted his request for a retrial.
Su Ping-kun (蘇炳坤), 67, has always maintained his innocence, saying he was framed by another convict in the case, Kuo Chung-hsiung (郭中雄), who bore a grudge against him because of a past dispute.
The hearing into Su’s application for a retrial set a precedent in the nation, as it was the first time a court hearing and ruling have been broadcast live.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The trial is also to be broadcast live in line with the National Congress on Judicial Reform’s recommendation for “open court” proceedings for cases with minimum personal privacy concerns, are not controversial and where all parties agree to the broadcast.
On hearing the court’s decision yesterday, Su thanked the judges.
“I have suffered for more than 30 years waiting for this day,” he said.
“I just want to clear my name because I am innocent,” he said.
Kuo was apprehended after a jewelry store heist in Hsinchu County on March 23, 1986.
During questioning, he told police that Su, a furniture store manager, was an accomplice in the theft.
After a series of trials, Kuo was convicted and handed a 16-year prison sentence, while Su was given a 15-year term.
Su has repeatedly protested his innocence and had filed four times for a retrial and another four for an extraordinary appeal to clear his name.
He and his defense team had also appealed to the Control Yuan, which conducted an investigation and concluded that highly questionable testimony and evidence were used to convict Su, and that the judiciary and law enforcement agencies had violated the law during their investigation.
Because of the Control Yuan’s findings, then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2000 granted Su a special amnesty.
Su had served about two years and nine months at the time.
During the hearing, Su said that police investigators had tied him with ropes and used a hose to force water down his throat, as well as other inhumane methods to extract a confession from him.
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