The New Taipei City District Court yesterday handed the death sentence to a man accused of committing arson last year, killing six people in an old apartment building.
Tang Ching-hua (湯景華), 50, was found guilty of manslaughter and deprived of his civil rights for life.
According to the ruling, Tang got involved in an altercation with Weng Hsiang-chih (翁祥智) and another man in 2013. He filed assault charges against Weng, but lost.
Photo: Chen Wei-tzu, Taipei Times
In an apparent attempt to get back at Weng, Tang in March last year set fire to an apartment building belonging to Weng’s family in the city’s Sanchong District (三重), the ruling said.
Tang used gasoline and flammable materials to start the blaze in a densely populated residential area, with complete disregard for human lives and property, the ruling said.
Tang initially denied being involved in the fire, saying he had taken sleeping pills that night and did not remember anything.
However, surveillance footage in the area showed Tang riding his motorcycle to the apartment three times that night.
The footage showed Tang carrying containers filled with gasoline and two large bags of newspapers. He used a lighter to burn the paper materials and poured gasoline onto the motorcycles parked in front of the apartment.
The fire spread quickly and consumed the old building, killing six members of Weng’s family.
During the investigation, Tang was quoted as saying: “I had no idea the blaze would become so intense and cause so many people’s death. What I did was wrong.”
Yesterday’s ruling was the first on the case and can be appealed.
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