A woman who in 2021 set fire to a Kaohsiung building in which 46 people died and 41 were injured was handed a life sentence by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
The verdict is final and cannot be appealed.
The court declared the ruling from a lower court in August last year “error-free,” in which Huang Ke-ke (黃格格) was found guilty of homicide and arson, and sentenced to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The Supreme Court agreed that Huang deliberately left burning residue from mosquito repellent incense on a sofa in her boyfriend’s apartment in the Cheng Chung Cheng (城中城) building on Oct. 14, 2021, with the incense later sparking a fire that spread through the building.
The first trial at the Kaohsiung District Court in 2022 found the woman guilty of arson and manslaughter. She was sentenced to life imprisonment and disenfranchisement for life for the first crime, which was considered more severe.
However, the Kaohsiung branch of the High Court overruled the manslaughter verdict a year later, arguing that there was sufficient evidence of Huang’s intent to cause harm.
However, the High Court upheld the life sentence, stating that the crime did not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Prosecutors appealed again, saying that Huang’s crime is “no less than a merciless terrorist attack,” and she should receive the death penalty.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday reaffirmed the life sentence, emphasizing that while Huang might have anticipated some risks from her actions, the severity of the outcome likely exceeded her expectations, distinguishing her crime from willfully cruel murders.
Moreover, the inadequate management of the aging building and negligence from authorities should also be considered as contributing factors to the fatalities, the court said in a news release.
The fire in Yancheng District (鹽埕) was the second-deadliest building fire in Taiwan, after a blaze at the Weierkang Club in Taichung that killed 64 people in February 1995.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS