The Taiwan High Court yesterday upheld the death sentence and revoked for life the civil rights of Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), who was convicted in March by a lower court of killing four passengers in a premeditated knife attack on Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system in May last year.
Judges on the High Court’s Collegiate Bench upheld an earlier ruling finding Cheng guilty on four counts of murder, 13 counts of attempted murder and the attempted murder of nine under-aged persons.
Twenty-two-year-old Cheng, currently incarcerated at the Taipei Detention Center in New Taipei City’s Tucheng District (土城), chose not to appear in court for yesterday’s ruling.
Photo: CNA
As yesterday’s ruling was for the death sentence, the case must be appealed to the Supreme Court, according to the nation’s judicial procedures.
After five months of deliberation, judges found that Cheng carried out the killings with cruelty and afterward did not show remorse. The judges said there is no likelihood of rehabilitation.
“When committing this crime, the passengers being attacked cried out in pain and others ran in panic. However, Cheng showed no mercy and seemed to feel no sympathy, but continued the attack,” the judges’ statement said, adding that Cheng seemed to show no compassion.
The judges said that the crime was premeditated by Cheng, and he took up physical training and carefully devised a plan to carry out the crime. Cheng seemed to feel no guilt and showed no remorse for his crime.
“His attitude was repugnant. Victims and families of victims to this day are unable to forgive Cheng for this crime,” the judges said, giving reasons for upholding the first ruling.
The judges said that Cheng does not qualify for a reduction of punishment as someone with a mental deficiency or psychological disorder.
In addition, Cheng had been named in several civil lawsuits filed by victims, victims’ families and Taipei Rapid Transit Corp for damages, which comes to NT$120 million (US$3.66 million).
Li Jui-chang (李瑞昌), whose elder sister, Lee Tsui-yun (李翠雲), was among four killed in the attack on May 21 last year, said the civil lawsuits are aimed at seeking justice and putting responsibility on Cheng.
“We all know there will be no compensation, because Cheng has no property or assets. His family has washed their hands of the responsibility by cutting off links with him,” she said.
“I do not accept his apology [made at trial] at all. Cheng said it because his lawyer told him to. It was just acting, there was no sincerity in it,” Lee said.
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s