The High Court yesterday acquitted a man who was convicted of decapitating his mother in Taoyuan in 2018, reversing an earlier life sentence and sparking criticism.
High Court spokesman Wang Ping-hsia (王屏夏) said the judges had considered Liang Tsung-ming’s (梁崇銘) state of mind in reversing the original ruling, saying that he was not in control of his actions at the time of the incident, due to drug-induced psychosis.
Wang cited Article 19 of the Criminal Code, which states that “an offense is not punishable” if the person who committed it has a mental disorder or disability that renders them “unable or less able to judge” their actions.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it would appeal the High Court’s ruling.
Prosecutors last year had requested “the most severe punishment” for Liang, 35, who in September last year was convicted of murder.
On Oct. 17, 2018, Liang stabbed his 67-year-old mother several times after an argument, cut off her head and left hand, and threw the head from their 12th-floor apartment in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢) into a courtyard below, police said at the time.
Wang said Liang was released immediately yesterday, but that he requires treatment and close monitoring. The court asked the Taoyuan Department of Public Health to evaluate Liang’s condition to determine whether he can return to his residence.
However, as Liang was being escorted to a Taoyuan hospital for an evaluation yesterday, he was placed under arrest to serve a 55-day sentence related to a assault case in April 2018, police said.
Some people have criticized the latest High Court ruling, calling the judges “dinosaurs” for allowing Liang to walk free, and that other killers could also claim they had been on drugs to avoid a life sentence.
“This High Court decision does not reflect the public’s understanding [of the law] and expectations... I think many people would have trouble accepting this ruling,” Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsang (鄭文燦) said.
“This case should have required mandatory treatment for the defendant,” Cheng said. “However, the procedure outlined in the ruling requires a psychiatric evaluation at a certified hospital, and then Taoyuan public health authorities have to take Liang to a medical clinic for another assessment to decide on follow-up care.”
Such a ruling might cause a misunderstanding or even an “imitation effect,” Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) said.
Tsai pointed to the case of a man surnamed Cheng (鄭), who stabbed and killed a railway police officer and was acquitted in April because of a mental disorder.
Criminals should not think they can escape legal penalties if they lose control due to the effects of alcohol or drugs, the minister added.
Additional reporting by CNA
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