TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man who confessed to murdering a Malaysian student by strangulation and disposing of her body in 2020 has been sentenced to death.
At 10 a.m. on Friday (March 18), the Taiwan Ciaotou District Court sentenced the man, who is surnamed Liang (梁), to death for having been convicted of attempted sexual assault, sexual murder, robbery-homicide, and abandonment of a corpse, reported CNA. The detailed explanation for the verdict will be announced later, and the case can still be appealed.
Liang reportedly bowed his head as he heard the verdict and did not make any public statements in response. After issuing its decision, the court was adjourned at 10:10 a.m.
At 8 p.m. on Oct. 28, 2019, a 24-year-old Malaysian surnamed Chung (鍾) was walking to her dormitory from the Chang Jung Christian University (CJCU) campus near Changda Road close to the viaduct of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) Shalun Line. She disappeared after walking north along the underpass beneath the viaduct.
Liang later confessed to using a rope to strangle Chung and drag her to his car. After murdering the student, Liang abandoned her body in a mountainous area of Kaohsiung City's Alian District.
Chung's parents enlisted Taiwan Bar Association President Lin Jui-cheng (林瑞成) to take legal action against CJCU, the Taiwanese government, and the Tainan City Council for failing to take action that could have prevented the death of their daughter. In Dec. 25, 2020, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office in Kaohsiung announced that Liang had been indicted for murder.
