Bail was not overturned for a man surnamed Cheng (鄭) who was implicated in the killing of railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) after Chiayi prosecutors appealed to the Taiwan High Court’s Tainan Branch yesterday.
The Chiayi District Court on Thursday found Cheng not guilty of murder because of his mental state and set bail at NT$500,000.
The High Court yesterday ordered the district court to hold another bail hearing, in which prosecutors argued that Cheng should remain incarcerated.
Photo: Wang Kuan-jen, Taipei Times
The district court in the bail hearing said that Cheng must comply with seven conditions, including being restricted to his residence and mandatory reporting to the department of psychiatry at Taichung Veterans General Hospital’s Chiayi branch.
Judges on Thursday ruled that Cheng, 55, has a mental disorder and had not taken his medicine for two years leading up to the fatal stabbing in July last year.
The judges said that Cheng’s mental capacity had deteriorated and he was not aware of his actions at the time.
They cited Article 19 of the Criminal Code: “An offense is not punishable if it is committed by a person who is mentally ill.”
“There is too much risk to release Cheng at this time. He still poses a danger to the public,” Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office Chief Prosecutor Tsai Ying-chun (蔡英俊) said on Thursday. “Cheng has a mental disorder and has shown instability in his conduct. If he were to be released without being monitored, it would be dangerous.”
The High Court said that Cheng’s mental state has not improved, so his release would create fear.
It cited the lower court’s ruling that said Cheng had committed the crime, but added that there is no mechanism to ensure that he would undergo treatment at a certified medical facility for the specified period.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) joined calls by National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽), Minister of the Interior Hsu Kuo-yung (徐國勇) and prosecutors that the acquittal be appealed.
Lee’s parents on Thursday said that the lower court’s ruling was outrageous.
They asked the High Court to give Cheng at least a life term to keep him out of society.
Cheng was aware of his actions and had control of his faculties at the time of the crime, the parents said.
The judges cannot use mental disorder as grounds to acquit a man who clearly committed the killing, they said.
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