A man surnamed Zhou in Taipei City stabbed an elderly man surnamed Li, whom he had never met before, 27 times with a knife two years ago, killing him. The victim’s wife knelt in court and cried, begging the judge to sentence Zhou to death. However, considering that Zhou suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had written a letter of remorse expressing his apology after the crime, the courts sentenced him to life imprisonment. After an appeal, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, confirming that Zhou would not face the death penalty.
On the morning of June 12, 2016, 88-year-old Mr. Li went to the Four Beasts Mountain area in Xinyi District, Taipei City, for exercise but went missing. Emergency services were alerted by his family and found him at a pavilion on the Hushan Trail. Li had been stabbed 27 times, bled profusely, and died of shock. Police later arrested Zhou.
After being arrested, Zhou claimed that he had been suffering from mental illness since 2014, often feeling “that snipers were targeting him,” “that he was being watched,” and “that people wanted to kill or hurt him,” among other delusions of persecution or persistent auditory hallucinations. He also argued that the victim had complained about his dog being dirty and smelly and had attacked him first, prompting him to fight back with a knife.
The Taipei District Court commissioned a hospital to assess Zhou’s mental state, which concluded that he had antisocial personality disorder tendencies and suffered from mental illnesses including paranoid schizophrenia. The judge determined that Zhou had committed murder and met the conditions for a heavier sentence due to being a repeat offender. His actions caused irreparable pain to the victim’s family, but considering the international covenants that prohibit the death penalty for individuals with mental disorders, Zhou was sentenced to life imprisonment.
After the appeal, the victim’s wife appeared in court, sobbing as she said her husband’s body was covered in stab wounds and it was almost impossible to dress him for the funeral. She knelt on the ground and begged the judge to sentence Zhou to death, saying, “I hope my husband is the last victim.”
The High Court ruled that Zhou had previously been sentenced for attempted murder and, less than half a year after being released last year, committed this murder, demonstrating his severe criminal nature. However, taking into account his confession after the crime and his status as a paranoid schizophrenia patient, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. After an appeal, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict.
(China Times)