Lu Chun-yi (呂軍億) was yesterday sentenced to a total of seven years in prison for the attempted murder of a military police officer outside the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on Aug. 18 last year, and for stealing and carrying a lethal weapon.
The Taipei District Court yesterday convicted Lu, 51, of attempted murder, aggravated theft, assault and other charges.
He was given six-and-a-half years for attempted murder and 10 months on the weapons charges.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The judges rejected Lu’s statement that he did not intend to hurt the guard, but had struck at the guard’s gun with the sword because the guard tried to stop him from entering the building.
The ruling was the first in the case and can be appealed.
The court ruling said that Lu had bought a hammer and a pair of gloves from a store, and then went to the Armed Forces Museum, where he stole a Japanese military sword from a display case, before walking to the west wing of the Presidential Office Building.
Chou Shu-hung (周書鈜) blocked Lu from approaching the building and was slashed several times with the sword before other military police guards overpowered him.
Investigators decided that Lu’s attack was politically motivated, as a suicide note and a People’s Republic of China flag were found in his knapsack.
Lu’s family also said he had extremist views and supported unification with China.
During his trial, Lu did not contest psychiatrists’ assessments that he had been in control of his actions during the attack and had not been suffering from hallucinations or other abnormal behavior.
Lu told the court that he had expected to be killed trying to enter the building, which is why he had left a note explaining his motivations.
During questioning by prosecutors, Lu confirmed that he had written that he wanted to “behead [President] Tsai [Ing-wen (蔡英文)].
In related news, the judges decided that Chou’s lawsuit seeking NT$3 million (US$102,905) compensation from Lu should be transferred to civil court after Lu said during his trial that he could only pay half that amount.
Chou, who suffered cuts to his head and hands in the attack, was left with partial facial paralysis because of severed nerves.
He later retired from the military police.
He told the court that he suffers from psychological trauma because of the attack.
“When I see Lu during court sessions, I am still a bit frightened and have nervous feelings,” Chou told reporters after one court session in December last year.
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