The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office today indicted actor Lee Wei (李威) and 12 others for the death of a woman at a Buddhist retreat.
The 13 people are facing charges for causing bodily injuries leading to death, complicity in causing bodily injuries leading to death, and coercion.
A woman, surnamed Tsai (蔡), member of a religious group, was found dead in the group’s meeting place in July last year.
Photo: Taipei Times
Lee cooperated with prosecutors as a witness and provided testimony on other suspects, leading to prosecutors seeking to reduce or waive his sentence under the Witness Protection Act (證人保護法).
As per Article 14 of the act, prosecutors requested the court to reduce Lee’s sentence, as he provided key testimony and evidence of crimes committed by others indicted in the case.
In July last year, police received a report that a woman was lying motionless in a first-floor property on a residential block on Siwei Road in Taipei’s Daan District (大安).
When police officers arrived to the scene, they found Tsai with no signs of life and her body covered in bruises.
A subsequent autopsy determined she died of rhabdomyolysis, a complex medical condition involving the rapid dissolution of damaged or injured skeletal muscle.
The religious group’s leader, Buddhism writer Wang Yun (王薀), allegedly forced the woman to kneel in front of a Buddha statue as a form of repentance, before she collapsed from exhaustion, the investigation found.
After that, religious group’s chief executive, surnamed Wu (吳), a woman surnamed Chiang (姜) and Lee pushed Tsai’s body in a trolley from a restaurant to the property and left it there, surveillance video footage showed.
In the subsequent investigation, several suspects were detained, with prosecutors summoning Lee for questioning three times.
On Monday last week, Lee and his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), were released on bail for NT$300,000 (US$9,141) and NT$150,000 respectively.
The case would be heard by the Taipei District Court.
Chinese-language media reported that Tsai had been an accountant for the group, whose members were mostly white-collar professionals.
After her death, Tsai’s bank accounts, which combined had more than NT$2 million, were empty, the reports said.
Lee, who rose to fame after starring in the drama Toast Boy’s Kiss (吐司男之吻) in the 2000s, became a follower of Buddhism after leaving the entertainment business.
Additional reporting by CNA
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS