In a final decision yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that former death row inmate Hsu Tzu-chiang (徐自強) was not guilty of the 1995 kidnap and murder of a businessman, rejecting an appeal by prosecutors to end a case that has bounced around the court system for more than two decades and become one of the nation’s highest-profile human rights cases.
Prosecutors had appealed a High Court decision last year to overturn Hsu’s guilty verdict.
Accompanied by lawyers and supporters, Hsu fought back tears at a news conference in Taipei yesterday afternoon.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“When I heard the ruling, it felt unreal to me; maybe I had heard it wrong,” Hsu said. “My mother will celebrate her birthday soon, and this will be the best gift she could get, because over the past 21 years, she has suffered the most.”
“I wanted to give up this fight, as I had given up on the justice system, but my family and my lawyers persisted; they did not want to give up,” Hsu said. “Some people asked if I had bad fortune, but I do not think so, because I feel lucky to be able to walk out of prison.”
Hsu was originally convicted of the September 1995 kidnap and murder of Huang Chun-shu (黃春樹), whose kidnappers sought a ransom of NT$70 million (US$2.2 million at current exchange rates).
Two men, Huang Chun-chi (黃春棋) and Chen Yi-lung (陳憶隆), who were convicted as being the main perpetrators and sentenced to death, had claimed in their trials that Hsu was an accomplice.
Hsu’s saga saw him handed the death sentence nine times and a term of life imprisonment twice, while there were five extraordinary appeals.
He was incarcerated for 16 years, spending most of the time on death row, before being released on May 19, 2012.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
At least 35 people were killed and dozens more injured when a man plowed his car into pedestrians exercising around a sports center in the southern Chinese city of Zhuhai on Monday night. Footage showing bodies lying on the pavement appeared on social media in the hours after the crash, but had vanished by early Tuesday morning, and local police reported only “injuries.” It took officials nearly 24 hours to reveal that dozens had died — in one of the country’s deadliest incidents in years. China heavily monitors social media platforms, where it is common for words and topics deemed
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