The High Court yesterday handed down a heavier sentence to a man convicted of killing a police detective at a karaoke lounge in Tainan last year, turning a lower court’s sentence of 19 years in prison to life.
A review of the investigation and evidence showed that the accused, Mei Wen-kuei (梅文魁), had intended to kill Tainan police detective Liu San-jung (劉三榮), the High Court’s Tainan branch spokesman Wu Yung-hui (吳勇輝) said.
After shooting Liu, Mei did not provide assistance or call for help, which resulted in the detective dying from the bullet wound in his chest, Wu said.
The incident took place at a karaoke lounge in Liouying District (柳營) on June 14 last year, with Mei carrying a modified handgun in a backpack, which he used to shoot Liu at close range.
The Tainan District Court on Dec. 10 last year sentenced Mei to 15 years in prison for homicide, and four years and six months for illegal possession of firearms, which combined into a sentence of 19 years and two months in prison, plus a fine of NT$100,000.
During the trial, Mei claimed that he did not intend to kill Liu and only fired the handgun to scare him. However, investigators found that the two had a long-running conflict, with Mei punching Liu, who sustained injuries to his face, in 2016.
The two attempted to resolve their differences and agreed to meet for dinner at the karaoke lounge, but after having a few drinks, they started arguing again and Mei took out his gun and shot Liu, investigators said.
“We respect the High Court’s ruling, as a life sentence is a heavy punishment for the crime,” Tainan City Police Chief Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉) said. “We will provide enhanced training for police officers on dealing with this type of situation, so they would know how to protect themselves, as well as public lives and property.”
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