The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a woman in Kaohsiung sentenced to seven years and six months in prison over the death of her five-month-old child, who was left at home alone for two days in 2019.
The 21-year-old defendant, surnamed Yang (楊), was the sole caregiver of the child, who had been diagnosed with a congenital heart condition often associated with malnutrition.
On the night of Dec. 25, 2019, Yang went out with her elder daughter, leaving the younger child at home alone without having made any arrangements for someone to feed or care for her, the High Court’s Kaohsiung branch said in its ruling on Oct. 20 last year.
Photo: Taipei Times
When Yang returned home two days later at 5:35pm on Dec. 27, 2019, she found that the younger daughter had stopped breathing, the high court said.
However, she did not call an ambulance until 6:23pm, it said.
A forensic medical examination determined that congenital heart disease was the leading cause of the infant’s death, coupled with rhabdomyolysis and acute tubular necrosis, both of which are associated with acute kidney failure.
The Ciaotou District Court had originally sentenced Yang to six years in prison for abandonment resulting in death, but the verdict was appealed by prosecutors on the grounds that it was too light.
The Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office said that despite being aware of her younger daughter’s health problems and regular medication needs, Yang had intentionally abandoned her.
The High Court on Feb. 14 ruled that Yang had routinely neglected to feed her younger daughter on a regular basis, thus failing to fulfill even the most basic duties as a parent.
However, it said it would only increase Yang’s sentence to seven-and-a-half years as she had confessed and reported the infant’s death.
The Supreme Court’s ruling is final.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party