A private detective was sentenced to life imprisonment for the blackmail, sexual assault and murder of a young woman in 2013, after the Supreme Court rejected his appeals.
Huang Wei-chin (黃文進), 38 at the time of the crime, operated a private detective agency in Taichung. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in a ruling of the Taichung branch of the High Court in March.
Yesterday’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed.
During the trial, there were calls that Huang be sentenced to death due to the horrific nature of the crime and the suffering inflicted on the victim, a Fu Jen Catholic University student surnamed Chen (陳).
Chen’s relatives reported her missing in 2013 and police quickly identified Huang as a prime suspect.
After more than two months of questioning while in police custody, Huang confessed to killing Chen and led police to where he had buried the body in a rural area of Taichung.
Investigations revealed Huang had formed an elaborate plan to cheat Chen of her money and property and to sexually assault her.
When Chen’s parents had died she inherited the family house. She went to Huang’s agency for assistance, as she suspected her boyfriend was dating other women.
Huang told Chen that he was a master of black magic religious rituals and could help her relationship with her boyfriend.
Huang lured her to a motel, where she passed out after drinking a beverage laced with drugs. He raped her and filmed the process.
Huang then used the video to blackmail her and later to pressure her into a relationship.
Huang then persuaded Chen to sell the family house and convinced Chen to invest the resulting NT$3.31 million (US$105,717) in his detective agency.
In April 2013, Huang wanted to end the relationship because he was seeing other women.
According to the investigation, Huang took Chen to a motel and drugged her, then killed her while she was unconscious using a gas canister to stream carbon monoxide into her mouth and nose, leading to asphyxia.
The next day Huang buried Chen’s body near a hillside bridge over a river in the Wujih District (烏日) of Taichung.
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