The High Court today rejected separate appeals from prosecutors and four men convicted for a fatal stabbing in 2021 in Taipei’s Ximending (西門町) area, upholding the prior sentences and an “injury resulting in death” charge.
Liu Tsung-jen (劉宗仁) and accomplices Chuang Ho-cheng (莊賀程), Li Li-kuo (李立國) and Chien Chien-kuo (簡建國) were originally indicted on murder charges after Liu attacked a 40-year-old man surnamed Yuan (袁) with a knife over a debt of just NT$1,000. Yuan then died from a wound inflicted by Liu.
The Taipei District Court then found Liu guilty of the lesser crime of “injury resulting in death,” sentencing him to nine years and three months, while the other three were found to be accomplices, with Chuang and Lee each sentenced to three years and 11 months and Chien handed a three-year, six-month sentence.
Photo: Yang Kuo-wen, Taipei Times
Both prosecutors and the four defendants submitted appeals as Liu continued to deny the murder charges, though he admitted to injury resulting in death; the four accomplices denied involvement, and prosecutors sought a murder charge.
The High Court today upheld the ruling of “injury resulting in death” and all four sentences, dismissing the appeals.
The case can be appealed a second time to the Supreme Court.
On the afternoon of July 17, 2021, Yuan moved into temporary rented accommodation and at 1am that night, 34-year-old Liu and three accomplices entered the premises, where they stayed for just five minutes before driving away, Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office found.
After a dispute broke out over the NT$1,000 debt owed by Yuan, he threatened to throw Molotov cocktails in retaliation, after which Liu attacked him with a watermelon knife, the investigation found.
Yuan was later found lying on the floor of the apartment with a stab wound to the left thigh that severed the femoral artery, it found.
He was taken to the hospital, where he ultimately died due to excessive blood loss, prosecutors said.
Surveillance footage collected by police provided evidence such as the getaway vehicle’s number plate, leading police to track down the four men, arrest them and request their detention.
In the High Court, Liu asked to reach a reconciliation with the victim’s family, while the other three continued to deny the charges.
Chien insisted he was asleep in the car during the incident and did not know what had happened inside the residence.
After the High Court ruling, he asked the judges to transfer to a different facility, which the court responded would be handled “according to the law.”
Yuan’s father testified to the High Court that the four men were “making excuses,” and that “what’s wrong is wrong,” adding that Yuan’s grandmother had died from grief over his death.
His father said that the killers showed no remorse, urging the court to seek a heavy sentence.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, pressed for a murder conviction, arguing that Liu sliced Yuan’s femoral artery in a single blow, showing intent to kill, adding that the four fled the scene and made no attempt to save Yuan’s life.
The court maintained that there was no evidence to suggest that Liu intended to kill Yuan.
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