Taiwan News
Date: 2020/05/02
By:  Central News Agency

Prosecutors filed an appeal Saturday after Chiayi District Court decided for a second time to commute the sentence of a man who fatally stabbed a railway police officer last July, on grounds of diminished responsibility.

In the case in question, a 54-year-old passenger, surnamed Cheng (鄭), was detained on homicide charges after he fatally stabbed 24-year-old railway police officer Lee Cheng-han (李承翰) on a train from Tainan to Taipei on July 3, when he was found to lack a valid ticket.

On Thursday, Chiayi District Court found Cheng innocent of murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to his long history of schizophrenia, which was documented by medical records going back to 2010 as well as a psychiatric assessment provided by an expert witness.

Citing Article 19, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, which lists mental illness as possible grounds for commutation, the court ruled that Cheng could be released on NT$500,000 (US$16,819) bail and transferred to a secure facility, where he must undergo mental health treatment for five years.
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