Taoyuan prosecutors on Saturday charged a woman with assault leading to death, after she allegedly crushed another woman during an encounter in September.
The victim, surnamed Yu (游), visited the defendant, surnamed Huang (黃), at her residence on Sept. 14 to talk about a debt that she owed Huang, prosecutors said.
However, an argument broke out, and Huang allegedly pinned Yu down on the floor and sat on her, causing fatal injuries, they said.
Photo: Chou Min-hung, Taipei Times
An autopsy found that Yu died as a result of multiple fractures, hemothorax and lung contusions that led to shock, prosecutors said.
Huang weighed about twice as much as Yu did at the time of the incident, they said.
After realizing that Yu had stopped breathing, Huang allegedly moved her body to the courtyard of her residential building and returned home, prosecutors said.
Her neighbors found Yu’s body at about 7am the following morning and called emergency services.
Paramedics said Yu had no vital signs when they arrived at the scene.
Prosecutors said Huang admitted assaulting Yu and moving her body when questioned by police.
After an investigation, prosecutors concluded that Huang had not intended to kill Yu, so they did not seek intentional homicide charges and instead sought the lesser charge of assault leading to death, they said.
Commenting on the case, physics professor Chiu Po-wen (邱博文) said the risk of serious injury increases greatly when excessive pressure is placed on the back and spine, which are relatively weak.
Death could have been avoided had Huang sat on Yu’s buttocks, he said.
Additional reporting by Chang Wei-chen
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