Family members of victim surnamed Kao (高) vow to appeal for reinstatement of death sentence

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/07
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The man who nearly two years ago murdered and dismembered a female member of an archery class he organized and taught on the lawn of Taipei's Huashan 1914 Creative Park escaped the death sentence in his second trial on Tuesday (April 7), as Taiwan's High Court considered his confession a basis for leniency.

Family members of the victim, surnamed Kao (高), were furious upon hearing the sentence, which they said did not meet the expectations of the public, and they said they would appeal, TVBS News reported.

Defendant Chen Po-chien (陳伯謙) was indicted in August 2018 on charges of sexual assault and murder in addition to abandonment and destruction of a corpse.

According to prosecutors, Kao signed up for Chen’s archery class, and on May 31, 2018 they consumed alcohol together. Chen admitted that he tried to rape Kao while she was sleeping, and he explained that her resistance upon waking stirred him to further violence.    [FULL  STORY]