Prosecutors on Thursday asked the High Court to hand down a heavy sentence of more than one year for a woman accused of drugging and robbing three older people last year.
The 67-year-old woman, surnamed Huang (黃), is appealing a guilty verdict by the Taipei District Court, prosecutors said.
Huang was in February last year found guilty of drugging and robbing eight older men she had picked up in the city’s Wanhua District (萬華) in 2016 and 2017, prosecutors said.
She had approached the men in public places, and convinced them to take her to their homes or took them to her home, where she secretly gave them drugs to make them lose consciousness so that she could rob them, a district court filing showed.
She was sentenced to eight years and 10 months in jail on charges of robbery and theft, it showed.
Huang appealed the verdict and the case is under review by the High Court, prosecutors said.
However, prosecutors after the district court ruling found that Huang, who had formerly run a hotel in Hualien County, had previously served jail sentences for similar offenses, prosecutors said.
After the verdict last year, she allegedly continued seeking out men and robbing them, prosecutors said.
In the latest case, Huang allegedly stole NT$3,600 and an ID card from a man surnamed Hsieh (謝) who she had met near Taipei’s MRT Longshan Temple Station, they said.
She allegedly took Hsieh to her residence, drugged and robbed him, and then left him on the side of a road while he was still unconscious, they said.
On Nov. 1 last year, Huang allegedly also drugged and stole NT$500, a mobile phone and cigarettes from a man surnamed Hsu (許) at his home, prosecutors said.
A week later, Huang allegedly approached a man surnamed Chen (陳), with the intention to drug and rob him, but Chen was drunk and rejected Huang’s offer to buy him more drinks, they said.
A physical altercation allegedly occurred between them, Chen fell to the ground, and Huang stole NT$2,000 and his keys, prosecutors said.
As Huang has committed several offenses and in court did not show remorse, the High Court should hand down a heavy sentence to deter her from contravening the law, which would also help protect the public, prosecutors said.
They asked for a jail term of no less than one year and a compulsory skills training that she would have to complete before being released from prison.
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