The High Court yesterday found Chang Yen-wen (張彥文) guilty of the murder of his 21-year-old former girlfriend, sentencing him to life in prison and depriving him of civil rights for life.
The collegiate bench in the second retrial stated that Chang had prepared a farewell letter ahead of the act and, as such, his intent to murder the woman, surnamed Lin (林), was premeditated.
Chang, a graduate of National Taiwan University (NTU), also does not have a psychological condition that would warrant a commutation of the sentence, the judges said.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Although the plaintiff, Lin’s mother, had agreed to receive compensation from the defendant before the second trial, Chang’s murder of Lin in broad daylight and desecration of her body have caused irreparable psychological trauma for the family of the deceased, the court said.
The ruling can be appealed.
According to court documents, Chang and Lin began dating in 2013. Chang allegedly raped Lin and took nude photographs of her during a trip to Japan in 2014.
On Sept. 22, 2014, Chang stopped Lin outside her residence and after failing to convince her to have sex with him one last time, he stabbed Lin 47 times and attempted to commit suicide.
During the first trial, Lin’s mother refused Chang’s offer of a settlement of NT$12.6 million (US$424,500 at the current exchange rate) and the prosecution asked for the death sentence, citing premeditated murder.
However, the presiding judge handed down a sentence of life in prison, saying psychiatric assessments deemed him capable of rehabilitation.
The settlement between the plaintiff and the defendant before the second trial led to Chang being sentenced to a total of 21 years and one month in prison, along with three one-year sentences that could be commuted to fines.
The Supreme Court upheld the second ruling on all counts except for the murder charge, remanding the case to the High Court to clarify whether it should be considered a premeditated or a spontaneous murder.
During the first retrial, the High Court said Chang had planned to kill Lin due to their break-up and his actions should be considered premeditated murder.
However, as Chang’s actions were prompted by his skewed view of their relationship and he could be rehabilitated, it sentenced him to 15 years in prison.
The Supreme Court, criticizing the first retrial ruling as lacking factual basis and demanding an explanation on why the lower court deemed the original ruling of life imprisonment too severe, ordered that the case be remanded a second time.
Chang, 35, is known for winning a computer gaming competition while studying at NTU. He was working at an accounting firm before the murder.
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