A man who was charged with the murder of his wife, mother-in-law, and stepson in New Taipei City last year was sentenced to death yesterday by a court panel that included six citizen judges, the New Taipei District Court said.
It was the first time that a death sentence was imposed by citizen judges since Taiwan implemented a lay judge system on Jan. 1, 2023.
In the ruling, the court said that the 24-year-old man, surnamed Chang (張), killed his 30-year-old wife around midnight on April 30 by suffocating her with a pillow while she was asleep.
Photo: Chen Wei-tzu, Taipei Times
On May 2, Chang strangled his 69-year-old mother-in-law and his three-year-old stepson to death and wrapped the bodies, along with that of his wife, in a bedsheet, the ruling said.
Chang then stole his mother-in-law’s bank cards and valuables from her safety deposit box, withdrew funds from her bank account and used some of the money to upgrade his membership on a dating Web site and buy points on a gambling site, the court said.
After six days, Chang fled to Taichung with his wife’s dog and checked into a hotel, using his father’s name, the court said.
His sister-in-law, who had been trying for days to contact her family, found the three dead bodies after she hired a locksmith to break into their home in Sanchong District (三重), the court said.
Chang was arrested on May 12 in Taichung and was indicted on Wednesday last week on charges of theft and the murder of the three people, the court said.
It said the evidence showed that there had been no forced entry to the home prior to the three deaths, and the suspect had fled and gone into hiding.
Chang’s trial lasted six days, after which the panel of three career judges and six citizen judges issued a guilty verdict yesterday and sentenced him to death — a ruling that can still be appealed.
During a psychological evaluation, Chang showed no remorse for the brutal killings, the district court said.
He also threatened to kill his sister-in-law and his wife’s ex-boyfriend, the court said.
The Citizen Judges Act (國民法官法) mandates the participation of ordinary citizens in criminal trials, in concert with professional judges, to hand down verdicts.
According to the act, criminal cases warranting a prison term of at least 10 years, or premeditated crimes that result in death, are to be reviewed by a collegiate bench comprising three career judges and six citizen judges.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
RSS