The New Taipei City District Court yesterday sentenced a woman to seven years and two months in prison for murdering her husband in Taiwan’s first-ever criminal case to be tried by a mixed collegiate bench of lay and professional judges.
Taiwan began assigning lay judges with the implementation of the Citizen Judges Act (國民法官法) on Jan. 1.
A woman surnamed Chi (季), aged 63, was accused of stabbing her husband, surnamed Fan (范), aged 72, in his sleep on the evening of Nov. 30 last year.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
She confessed to the killing but pled for leniency on grounds of diminished capacity by mental duress and pitiable circumstances respectively under Article 19 and Article 59 of the Criminal Code, the court said in the verdict.
The prosecution did not contest the part of the defense’s case arguing that Chi’s voluntary surrender to the authorities qualified the defendant for sentencing mitigation, it said.
Chi claimed to be a victim of chronic domestic abuse by the deceased, which the prosecution also did not dispute, it said.
The prosecution contended that the accused was not acting under extreme mental duress at the time of the killing and her circumstances, albeit worth of sympathy, did not entitle her to further reductions to her sentencing, it said.
The prosecution said that Chi would serve a shorter time in prison than the sentence for aggravated assault, if the court allowed further sentence reductions in addition to her voluntary surrender.
The collegiate bench accepted the prosecution’s argument saying, based on Chi’s psychiatric examination, her capacity was not diminished at the time of the murder, it said.
The examiner’s testimony indicated that Chi was aware that murder was against the law and that options other than that were available at the time of the crime, the court said.
The court rejected the plea to reduce Chi’s sentence due to pitiable circumstances, as her case does not meet the legal standard “the offense is so pitiable that even the minimum punishment is considered too severe.”
Therefore, the bench accepted the prosecution’s position that Chi should receive a prison term of between eight and 12 years, the court said.
The collegiate bench handed down the sentence — which was close to the minimum prison term demanded by the prosecution — after three days of deliberations.
The lay members of the bench have performed well in keeping their focus and being attentive to details, a legal expert who observed the case as part of the public audience said on condition of anonymity.
The lay judges repeatedly asked to examine the “gruesome” crime scene photographs and asked relevant questions, they said.
Though some of the questions posed by the lay judges can be construed as prejudicial, these missteps fall into the normal range of expectations, they said, adding that the system of lay judges was meant to empower ordinary citizens.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
Taiwan’s drone exports surged past US$100 million in the first quarter, exceeding last year’s full-year total, with the Czech Republic emerging as the largest buyer, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Exports of complete drones reached US$115.85 million in the period, about 1.2 times the total recorded for all of last year, the ministry said in a report. Exports to the Czech Republic accounted for about US$100 million, far outpacing other markets. Poland, last year’s top destination, recorded about US$11.75 million in the first quarter. Taiwan’s drone exports have expanded rapidly in the past few years, with last year’s total
RSS