A man convicted of stabbing two passengers on the Taichung Metro, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in December last year, has received a reduced sentence of nine years and nine months after reaching a settlement with one of the two victims, the High Court’s Taichung branch said in a statement yesterday.
The 20-year-old man, surnamed Hung (洪), was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted murder and endangering public safety after the attacks on a Taichung Metro train in May last year in which he stabbed a 27-year-old man surnamed Hsu (許) and a 17-year-old high-school student surnamed Lu (呂).
However, the court said that after considering that Hung has reached a settlement with Lu, it decided to reduce the sentence for attempted murder.
Photo: Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
Based on Hung’s previous confession, the types and sharpness of the knives he used and that he stabbed the upper body and head of the victims, seriously injuring them, the High Court ruled that Hung did intend to kill people.
Hung’s denial of attempted murder was determined to be not credible, the High Court said.
Asked about the latest court decision, Lu’s father said that his son decided to forgive Hung, giving him a second chance.
According to prosecutors, the incident occurred on May 21 last year, when Hung used three knives to randomly attack passengers on a Taichung MRT train, injuring two people, before he was subdued by other passengers.
During the investigation, Hung told prosecutors he was dissatisfied with the state of Taiwanese society and wanted to make a statement by killing someone, prosecutors said.
He chose to carry out the assault on the 10th anniversary of a notorious Taipei Metro attack, during which a passenger named Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) killed four people and injured 22 in a stabbing frenzy on a Taipei MRT train on May 21, 2014.
After the prosecutors’ investigation, Hung was charged with attempted murder and public intimidation in June last year.
The ruling can still be appealed.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
RSS