The Taiwan High Court on Wednesday started hearing a class-action lawsuit filed by survivors as well as relatives of the people killed in a Taipei MRT knife attack last year, demanding that convicted killer Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) pay NT$ 61.38 million (US$1.87 million) in damages.
On the first day of hearings, most of the 12 plaintiffs appeared in person before the judge, but Cheng did not, which angered the survivors of the attack and the relatives of those who lost their lives.
Cheng, then a student at Tunghai University, attacked passengers on Taipei’s MRT metro rail system on May 21 last year on the Bannan Line between Longshan Temple Station and Jiangzicui Station. He killed Hsieh Ching-yun (解青雲), Chang Cheng-han (張正翰), Lee Tsui-yun (李翠雲) and Pan Pi-chu (潘碧珠), and injured 22 others.
Cheng, who is being held at a correctional facility in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), chose not to appear before the judge in person and answered questions through a live video link.
Judge Wu Hua-shan (吳燁山) asked Cheng: “Do you have any opinions about the plaintiffs demanding compensation?” to which he replied: “I agree with the compensation amount as demanded by the plaintiffs. It is my wish not to appear in court for questioning, I give up my right to appear in court.”
The judge told Cheng that he may give up the right to raise points and make statements for his own defense, and asked the question again, to which Cheng gave the same reply.
Wu asked Cheng if he would claim to have “mental deficencies” as he did during the hearings over the attack, to which Cheng replied he would not make such a claim for the civil lawsuit.
The class-action lawsuit was filed in parallel to the criminal proceedings on Cheng’s judicial case. The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for the loss of family members, medical treatment expenses, and psychological trauma and suffering.
Lee Juei-chang (李瑞昌), brother of Lee Tsui-yun, who was killed in the attack, said Cheng chose not to appear in court to face the victims, which showed “that he has no remorse and is not willing to face what he has done.”
Kao Yi-wen (高懿文), the mother of Hsieh Ching-yun, who was also killed in the stabbing, said: “I just want the judges to expedite the hearing and quickly reach a verdict.”
“Each time we show up in court, it only causes more pain. Often I felt as if my son is accompanying me. He seems to tell me to let it go and for me to have peace of mind. Only then he can let go and be at peace,” she said.
The New Taipei City District Court in March found Cheng guilty on four counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted manslaughter, handing down four death sentences, along with prison terms ranging from five to eight years, amounting to a total jail term of 144 years and revoking his citizenship rights for life.
Cheng’s team of lawyers has appealed the ruling to a second-trial court.
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