The Kaohsiung District Court yesterday sentenced to death a man convicted of fatally stabbing a couple living in an apartment above his because they made too much noise.
The man, surnamed Wu (吳), was 63 years old and living in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District (苓雅) at the time of the killings in September 2023.
On the morning of Sept. 15, Wu walked into the apartment of his upstairs neighbors and repeatedly stabbed a 35-year-old woman, surnamed Tsai (蔡), in the living room as she was preparing to take her two children to school, prosecutors said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Wu then allegedly walked into a bedroom and stabbed Tsai’s 36-year-old husband, surnamed Lo (羅), as he slept.
The couple were declared dead at the scene, prosecutors said.
After stabbing Tsai and Lo, Wu allegedly returned home and changed clothes before traveling to the Kaohsiung side of the Wanda Bridge — which spans the Gaoping River (高屏溪) between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County — to dispose of the bloody clothes and murder weapon.
He was arrested in Pingtung’s Fangliao Township (枋寮) and confessed to police, prosecutors said.
However, during questioning by prosecutors, he refused to speak on multiple occasions and last month during court proceedings denied stabbing the couple, prosecutors said.
In its ruling, the district court sentenced Wu to death, as requested by prosecutors, stating that he was fully in control of his mental faculties and had committed the murders in a premeditated fashion.
The verdict can be appealed.
As of the end of January, 36 prisoners were on death row in Taiwan.
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