The Ministry of National Defense said yesterday it would pay NT$103.18 million (US$3.4 million) in compensation to the family of an air force serviceman who was wrongly executed 14 years ago for the rape and murder of a young girl.
The sum takes into consideration Chiang Kuo-ching’s (江國慶) detention of 314 days and his execution for a rape and murder he did not commit, the ministry said.
The compensation was calculated based on Ministry of the Interior statistics that show an average life expectancy of 77 years in Taiwan, it added.
Photo: Huang Li-hsiang, Taipei Times
The compensation sum will be finalized if no objections are raised by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office or by Chiang’s mother, Wang Tsai-lien (王彩蓮), within 20 days, the ministry said.
In 1996, Chiang was accused of raping and killing a five-year-old girl at the Air Force Combat Command in Taipei. He confessed to air force counterintelligence officers that he had committed the crime and was later convicted and sentenced to death. Chiang was executed in 1977 at the age of 21.
However, in a posthumous retrial of the case last month a military court acquitted Chiang of the charges, ruling that his confession had not been given freely and was not admissible. Furthermore, the evidence presented in the case, such as the suspected murder weapon and a tissue stained with the child’s blood, was not conclusive and had not been subject to modern forensic examination, the court ruled.
Once the compensation is settled, the Northern Military District Court will assemble a compensation review committee of legal experts and military court judges to determine whether the military officials involved in the case should be responsible for paying the compensation.
Evidence and documents from the case will be sent to the Supreme Military Court and the Military Supreme Prosecutors’ Office to -determine whether the military officials mismanaged the initial investigation and subsequent trials of the case.
Responding to the compensation ruling, Wang yesterday said all the money in the world cannot bring back her son, adding that the ruling had depressed her more than ever, since all she ever wanted was to claim her son’s innocence.
Wang said she would continue to press charges against former defense minister Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏), who was chief of the Air Force Combat Command at the time.
Media reports in January said that Chen had violated the Code of Court Martial Procedure by erroneously referring Chiang’s case to the counterintelligence agency instead of the judiciary.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS