The Taiwan High Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal by five men convicted of drug-related offenses in connection with the death of a 21-year-old woman who attended a party in a W Hotel room in Taipei in December 2016.
Chu Chia-lung (朱家龍), Tsai Yi-hsueh (蔡逸學) and Hung Sheng-yen (洪聖晏), who were the hosts of the five-day party, as well as Chiang Che-wei (江哲瑋) and Chang Tzu-yi (張子奕), were convicted on June 30 last year by the Taipei District Court and handed terms ranging from four years to 10 years and 10 months.
The 10-year terms given in the first ruling to Chu, who was seen as the main host because he paid the NT$50,000 (US$1,663.89 at the current exchange rate) deposit for a VIP suite, and Tsai were upheld, as was the 10-year and 10-month sentence given to Hung.
Chiang and Chang were convicted of supplying the drugs used at the Dec. 2 to Dec. 7 party, and while Chiang’s nine-year term was upheld, Chang was given a longer sentence of six years and six months, up from the four years and two months in the first trial’s ruling.
Investigators said that Chu and his friends made telephone calls to arrange for drug buys, which came in pouches of coffee powder, and they paid for female escorts from “modeling agencies” to offer sexual services at the party.
A 21-year-old woman from one of the agencies, surnamed Kuo (郭), arrived at the party on Dec. 2. She was seen being helped into a taxi by Hung and Chiang on Dec. 7, the lower court said in its ruling.
Kuo sought treatment at Cathay General Hospital before being transferred to the Taipei Veteran’s General Hospital, where she died.
An autopsy found she had died from drug overdose, with the residue of more than a dozen different drugs in her body.
Tsai Cheng-han (蔡承翰), the lawyer for Kuo’s family, on Tuesday said the family was not satisfied with the second ruling.
“The drug-fueled party went on for many days, and the organizers more than once supplied narcotics to Kuo and others. This showed that Chu and his friends had no regard for human life,” Tsai said.
Kuo’s parents have filed a civil suit against Chu and 10 others, seeking NT$28 million in damages. The suit is still before the courts.
Most of the media attention in the case has focused on Chu, who comes from a wealthy family, and had a reputation for throwing large parties for his friends.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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