The Supreme Court, in a final ruling on Wednesday, upheld the life sentence given to a Kaohsiung man for the death of his ex-girlfriend in 2016, who died of massive burns after he poured gasoline over her and set her alight.
Chen Pao-an (陳保安), 67, and his lawyer had twice appealed his initial conviction, which was based on evidence that the killing had been premeditated, as investigators said that Chen had brought a plastic bottle filled with gasoline with him when he went to meet the woman.
Chen, a watermelon vendor, began a common-law relationship with a woman surnamed Chang (張), 42, in 2013.
Photo: Copy by Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
Chang moved away in 2016, saying that Chen had beaten her, but he wanted to continue the relationship.
He also claimed in court that he helped Chang pay off NT$200,000 in debt
Using the pretext of wanting to visit his younger brother in Pingtung County, Chen on Oct. 17, 2016, asked Chang to give him a ride on her motorcycle.
They stopped along the way and began to argue about the debt.
Chen took the bottle of gasoline out of his backpack and grabbed Chang tightly before dousing her with it and igniting the fuel with a lighter, court documents showed.
The flames engulfed both of them.
Chang suffered third-degree burns to 63 percent of her body and died nine days later in a hospital, while Chen suffered burns to 12 percent of his body, but recovered after treatment.
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