In a final verdict yesterday, the Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision to sentence Wang Ching-yu (王景玉) to life in prison for beheading a four-year-old girl.
New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭), the mother of the girl, known as “Little Light Bulb” (小燈泡), said in a statement that she was disappointed by the verdict.
The killing occurred on March 28, 2016, when Claire Wang and her daughter were walking to an MRT station in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
Photo: CNA
Wang Ching-yu grabbed the child from behind and beheaded her with a cleaver.
In the first retrial at the High Court in January this year, Claire Wang appealed the decision to sentence Wang Ching-yu to life in prison, saying he deserved the death sentence as he posed a threat to the public if paroled.
The nation does not yet have a well-functioning social safety net for people with mental disorders, she said at the time.
Doctors involved in Wang Chin-yu’s prosecution said that although diagnosed with schizophrenia, he was cognitively normal during the attack and was able to control himself.
The High Court decided against imposing the death penalty, as it said that Wang Ching-yu’s schizophrenia could improve with proper treatment, reducing the likelihood of him committing a crime again.
Wang Ching-yu’s family was not aware of his condition and he had not received psychiatric treatment, a court statement said.
After the murder, Claire Wang became an advocate, often speaking out for victims of crime and their families.
She has served as a lawmaker since February.
“To be very honest, each step we have taken has been very difficult, please forgive us for our feelings of sorrow and agony,” Claire Wang said in a statement yesterday, explaining her reason for wanting the death penalty.
“However, as the justice system has made its decision, we hope the judiciary can genuinely address the treatment of convicted criminals,” so that they can be rehabilitated properly, and “all members of the public do not have to run the risk of them committing a crime again,” she said.
“We will focus on to improving the problems and predicaments faced by victims and their families, and working hard on fixing the deficiencies in our social safety net, so that ... the disadvantaged can have a pillar to rely on, and every child can grow up in health and security,” the statement read.
“We thank all members of the public who gave their empathy and support to the victim’s family. We will keep the sorrow to ourselves, and place our hope in making reforms,” she said.
“We ask that everyone who gave their support in this particular case to transform that support into a force for change,” she added.
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
President William Lai (賴清德) today condemned an alleged attempt by two Chinese to snatch a letter of congratulations handed to Taiwan’s taekwondo team after they won silver at the Summer World University Games in Essen, Germany, yesterday. A Chinese man and woman reportedly tried to snatch a congratulatory letter to athletes Hung Jiun-yi (洪俊義), Jung Jiun-jie (鍾俊傑) and Huang Cho-cheng (黃卓乘) from the Ministry of Education, and then argued with media employees. “Why are you taking our things?” the media employees asked. “Does that say Chinese Taipei?” the two Chinese reportedly said. Following the incident, Sports Administration Director-General Cheng Shih-chung (鄭世忠) wrote on
RSS