A woman who in 2021 set fire to a Kaohsiung building in which 46 people died and 41 were injured was handed a life sentence by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The verdict is final and cannot be appealed.
The court declared the ruling from a lower court in August last year “error-free,” in which Huang Ke-ke (黃格格) was found guilty of homicide and arson, and sentenced to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The Supreme Court agreed that Huang deliberately left burning residue from mosquito repellent incense on a sofa in her boyfriend’s apartment in the Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building on Oct. 14, 2021, with the incense later sparking a fire that spread through the building.
The first trial at the Kaohsiung District Court in 2022 found the woman guilty of arson and manslaughter. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life for the first crime, which was considered more severe.
However, the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court overruled the manslaughter verdict a year later, arguing that there was sufficient evidence of Huang’s intent to cause harm.
However, the High Court upheld the life sentence, stating that the crime did not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Prosecutors appealed again, saying that Huang’s crime is “no less than a merciless terrorist attack,” and she should receive the death penalty.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday reaffirmed the life sentence, emphasizing that while Huang might have anticipated some risks from her actions, the severity of the outcome likely exceeded her expectations, distinguishing her crime from willfully cruel murders.
Moreover, the inadequate management of the aging building and negligence from authorities should also be considered as contributing factors to the fatalities, the court said in a news release.
The fire in Yancheng District (鹽埕) was the second-deadliest building fire in Taiwan, after a blaze at the Weierkang Club in Taichung that killed 64 people in February 1995.
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