Taiwan court sentences shooter to three death penalties for biotech firm killings

A court has sentenced Lee Hung-yuan to three death penalties for a brutal shooting at Kang Jian Bio-tech in Nantou that resulted in four deaths and one serious injury in July 2022.

The ruling by the Taichung High Court came after the Supreme Court had previously overturned earlier death sentences, remanding the case for retrial. During the retrial, a rehabilitation assessment indicated Lee might be capable of reintegrating into society. However, the court concluded that his actions constituted the most severe category of crime, and there was no reasonable expectation that rehabilitation could reduce his risk of re-offending. Consequently, the judges determined he requires permanent isolation from society.

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The three murder charges committed by Lee Hung-yuan were all carried out in an 'execution-style' manner, constituting extremely cruel crimes.

The court's decision was unanimous among the three judges, who cited the "execution-style" method used in the three murders as evidence of extreme cruelty. The ruling emphasized that these acts not only directly deprived the victims of their lives but also inflicted lifelong, irreparable pain on their families, fully aligning with the Constitutional Court's criteria for cases involving the "most serious criminal circumstances."

In its reasoning, the court stated that Lee's character, intellectual level, living conditions, and post-offense attitude did not provide grounds for leniency. It found insufficient basis to believe that he could lower the risk of committing similar severe crimes after undergoing rehabilitation. Therefore, the court deemed it necessary to deprive him of his right to life and permanently segregate him from society.

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There is a necessary and unavoidable need to deprive him of his right to life and permanently isolate him from society.