The High Court yesterday handed down a heavier sentence to a man convicted of killing a police detective at a karaoke lounge in Tainan last year, turning a lower court’s sentence of 19 years in prison to life.
A review of the investigation and evidence showed that the accused, Mei Wen-kuei (梅文魁), had intended to kill Tainan police detective Liu San-jung (劉三榮), the High Court’s Tainan branch spokesman Wu Yung-hui (吳勇輝) said.
After shooting Liu, Mei did not provide assistance or call for help, which resulted in the detective dying from the bullet wound in his chest, Wu said.
The incident took place at a karaoke lounge in Liouying District (柳營) on June 14 last year, with Mei carrying a modified handgun in a backpack, which he used to shoot Liu at close range.
The Tainan District Court on Dec. 10 last year sentenced Mei to 15 years in prison for homicide, and four years and six months for illegal possession of firearms, which combined into a sentence of 19 years and two months in prison, plus a fine of NT$100,000.
During the trial, Mei claimed that he did not intend to kill Liu and only fired the handgun to scare him. However, investigators found that the two had a long-running conflict, with Mei punching Liu, who sustained injuries to his face, in 2016.
The two attempted to resolve their differences and agreed to meet for dinner at the karaoke lounge, but after having a few drinks, they started arguing again and Mei took out his gun and shot Liu, investigators said.
“We respect the High Court’s ruling, as a life sentence is a heavy punishment for the crime,” Tainan City Police Chief Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉) said. “We will provide enhanced training for police officers on dealing with this type of situation, so they would know how to protect themselves, as well as public lives and property.”
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,