The Nantou District Prosecutors’ Office on Monday charged a suspect in the killing of a four-year-old girl and asked a court to sentence him to life in prison or death.
The girl’s abandoned body was found last month.
The girl’s mother, surnamed Peng (彭), 29, and her boyfriend, surnamed Chen (陳), 37, were detained by police on Sept. 4 on suspicion of murder and abandonment of a corpse.
Photo copied by Liu Pin-chuan, Taipei Times
Police found bruises and other injuries on the girl’s body, and an autopsy found amphetamines and Rohypnol, a tranquilizer, in her system.
Prosecutors alleged that Chen had beaten and drugged the child, and asked a court to sentence him to life in prison or death.
They also accused Peng of destroying evidence and helping Chen to dispose of the body, and asked for a prison term of two years and six months.
The child had been living with her grandmother until May, but Peng in June took her to live with her boyfriend, after which other family members did not see the child again.
They filed a missing person’s report at the end of August.
During questioning, Peng allegedly told police that her daughter had died in an accident and she helped bury her, police said.
Chen, Peng and a former prison mate of Chen’s, surnamed Tsai (蔡), buried the body on June 7, police said, citing an investigation.
Chen allegedly beat the child numerous times from Feb. 14 to June 4 at locations in Nantou and Taichung, where Peng’s family resides, police said.
An autopsy on the girl’s body revealed damage to the membrane lining the brain, they said.
Police said that Chen had also allegedly tied up and blindfolded the girl on several occasions to prevent her from running from him.
Both Peng and Chen have a history of drug use, police said, adding that Chen had been imprisoned for heroin use.
During questioning, Chen denied abusing or killing the child, and said that she drowned in a bathtub, police said.
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