The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court today revoked the death sentence of the man who was found guilty of raping and murdering a Malaysian student in 2020, handing him a life sentence in a second retrial ruling.
The man, Liang Yu-chih (梁育誌), who was convicted of homicide and sexual assault charges, received a life sentence and was deprived of his civil rights for life. He also received an eight-year sentence for robbery, to be combined with the life sentence.
The Supreme Court in April last year overturned the High Court’s January verdict of a death sentence and ordered a new trial.
Photo: CNA
In the first and second trials, the Ciaotou District Court and the High Court sentenced Liang to death over charges including attempted forcible sexual intercourse, forcible sexual intercourse, robbery, homicide, intentional homicide and abandonment of a body.
The Supreme Court overturned aspects of the second conviction, saying that the charge of abandoning a body was confirmed, but the sexual assault and murder charges should be retried.
The Kaohsiung branch of the High Court then sentenced Liang to death for the third time in January last year.
It was the first death sentence ruling since the Constitutional Court in September 2024 ruled that capital punishment is conditionally constitutional and should only be used in the most extreme cases.
The Supreme Court then ordered a further retrial, saying that the previous trial misapplied the law by treating the incident as a single offense, while it should have been prosecuted as multiple crimes — robbery, sexual assault and murder — with separate penalties.
The court also questioned Liang’s intent, as records suggest he might have initially planned only sexual assault before deciding to commit murder.
The High Court today found that the defendant did not plan to murder the victim, but acted with indirect intent to kill.
It also considered expert evaluations from doctors, psychiatrists and correctional counselors, which found he had low potential for rehabilitation and social reintegration.
The case dates back to Oct. 28, 2020, when Liang attacked a Malaysian student from Chang Jung Christian University who had been walking alone through an underpass, court documents showed.
He restrained her with a rope around her neck before raping her, strangling her to death and dumping her body on Dagangshan (大崗山) in Kaohsiung’s Alian District (阿蓮), the documents showed.
Chang Jung Christian University today said it respects the judicial ruling and legal procedures and would not issue any further statements.
Additional reporting by Liu Wan-chun
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