The trial of the man accused of decapitating a four-year-old girl in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) opened yesterday, with Wang Ching-yu’s (王景玉) defense lawyer saying his client is unfit to stand trial because of a mental disorder.
Wang, 33, is accused of decapitating the girl, nicknamed “Little Lightbulb” (小燈泡), in front of her mother on March 28.
During questioning by a Shilin District Court judge, Wang rambled, giving incoherent and sometimes outlandish answers, and quoting from Chinese mythology and folk religious beliefs.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
Wang’s lawyer, Liang Chia-ying (梁家贏), requested that the trial be suspended, saying Wang suffers from a mental disorder.
Liang urged the court to conduct another psychological evaluation of Wang and for other inmates to be called for questioning to attest to his behavior and mental condition in detention.
“Wang is unable to correctly express his ideas and the stuffs he wrote in his notebooks. He has been living in his own world with his own distorted view of history, immersed in Chinese mythology and ancient war battles,” Liang said.
The judge rejected Liang’s arguments, saying the suspect was able to clearly describe details of his action when questioned by police and prosecutors.
Wang seems to have no problem explaining things from his own perspective, and a proper psychological evaluation had already been conducted by medical experts, the judge said.
Observers in the courtroom said it was chilling to hear Wang describe the murder.
“I just took my cleaver, like this, and I stabbed her twice, then the girl’s head broke off,” he said.
The girl’s mother broke down several times, and was seen wiping away her tears. Her lawyer asked if she would like to leave the courtroom temporarily, but she declined and continued to listen to the entire proceeding.
The judge said he would discuss with other judges of the court’s Collegiate Bench whether another psychological evaluation is needed.
He then suspended the hearing and said it would reconvene on July 21.
Some critics have said they do not believe that Wang has a serious mental problem, saying he was just acting in court to escape responsibility for his action and obtain a more lenient punishment.
Speaking to reporters after the hearing, the girl’s mother said: “The death of Little Lightbulb is a pain that we can never forget. We have chosen a difficult path, by standing up and sincerely requesting that such tragedies be reduced in the future. We need more effort from the government to patch up the holes in our social safety net.”
“We hope to raise public concern over this issue, so that people can work together and create a safe environment for all children,” she said.
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