A man who on social media called for the decapitation of President William Lai (賴清德) was sentenced by the Taipei District Court on Monday last week to two months in prison, suspended for two years.
The man, a 42-year-old Taipei resident surnamed Hsu (許), was charged with threatening the public under the Criminal Code. His sentence is commutable to a fine of NT$1,000 per day of the prison sentence.
He was also fined NT$50,000, which would go to the National Treasury Administration.
Photo: Taipei Times
The court said it showed leniency in its sentencing, as Hsu confessed and had no prior criminal record.
Discontented with last year’s recall movement and the state of cross-strait relations, Hsu posted three threats on his Threads account, ra_bosh_91, on March 4 last year while using a virtual private network, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in its indictment.
“Kill the Green bird toads first, then behead President Lai and there will be peace in East Asia,” the indictment quoted the post as saying.
“Green birds” is a derogatory term for supporters of Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party.
“Decapitate President Lai, save Taiwan! Your turn to step up,” Hsu wrote on March 14.
“Kill the Green birds, one bullet per person, then decapitate Lai — it’s our responsibility!” a third post said.
Prosecutors indicted Hsu in February on suspicion of endangering public safety and threatening the public, and requested a heavy sentence to serve as a warning to others.
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