The Supreme Court yesterday gave death-row inmate Hsu Tzu-chiang's (徐自強) a new lease on life by overturning the ruling of the Taiwan High Court, which had sentenced him to death.
"According to Constitutional Interpretation 582, a suspect has a right to challenge co-defendants' testimony," Supreme Court spokesman Chi Chun-chien (紀俊乾) said yesterday.
"The High Court acted unconstitutionally in convicting Hsu on the basis of his accomplices' testimony," as Hsu did not have the opportunity to cross-examine these witnesses, he said.
This was the reason the Supreme Court overturned the ruling, and the trial will be reopened in the High Court, Chi said.
The Judicial Reform Foundation yesterday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision, which it said acknowledges people's right to life.
The Supreme Prosecutor's Office had filed four extraordinary appeals to the Supreme Court against Hsu' death sentence, but they were all rejected.
In a bid to save Hsu's life, the Judicial Reform Foundation applied for a constitutional interpretation on Hsu's case in September 2003. The foundation also tried to buy time by filing a petition with then minister of justice Chen Ding-nan (陳定南), who postponed Hsu's execution.
Last July, the Council of Grand Justices ruled in Interpretation 582 that Hsu's sentence was unconstitutional, as he had been deprived of the opportunity to challenge the testimony of his co-defendants.
After the release of Interpretation 582, the Supreme Prosecutor's Office filed a fifth extraordinary appeal, which led to the Supreme Court overturning the High Court's decision yesterday.
After being indicted for the Sept. 1, 1995, kidnapping and murder of Huang Chun-shu (黃春樹), a salesman, Hsu was convicted on the basis of testimony delivered by his alleged accomplices, Huang Chun-chi (黃春棋) and Chen Yi-lung (陳憶龍).
Hsu turned himself in when he realized that he was being sought by the police, but he never confessed to either crime.
In handing down the verdict, the court said that Huang Chun-shu was kidnapped and that accomplices demanded NT$15 million in ransom. The victim was killed on the same day in Hsichih, Taipei County, and the ransom money was recovered.
In May 2000, Chen Yi-lung admitted that he had deliberately incriminated Hsu because he had a grudge against him and hoped to delay the trial.
The High Court ruled that, despite Chen Yi-lung's admission, no other evidence had been presented to prove that Hsu was innocent.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
PROMOTION: Travelers who want a free stopover must book their flights with designated travel agents, such as Lion Travel, Holiday Tours, Cola Tour and Life Tours Air Canada yesterday said it is offering Taiwanese travelers who are headed to North America free stopovers if they transit though airports in Japan and South Korea. The promotion was launched in response to a potential rise in demand for flights to North America in June and July next year, when the US, Canada and Mexico are scheduled to jointly host the FIFA World Cup, Air Canada said. Air Canada offers services to 13 of the 16 host cities of the tournament’s soccer games, including Toronto and Vancouver; Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey in Mexico; Atlanta, Georgia; Boston; Dallas; Houston;
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