A 33-year-old Taiwanese man, previously sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a Malaysian university student in 2020, has had his punishment reduced to life imprisonment following a final appeal.
According to Taiwanese media, the Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court delivered the ruling on Jan 29, overturning death sentences imposed earlier by three lower courts.
The victim, a 24-year-old Malaysian student surnamed Chung, was studying at Chang Jung Christian University in Tainan. On the night of Oct 28, 2020, she was walking back to her dormitory when she was ambushed by Liang Yu-chih near a railway underpass.
Liang overpowered Chung with a rope, dragged her into nearby bushes, sexually assaulted her and strangled her, causing fatal internal injuries.
After the killing, Liang reportedly showed little remorse. He placed Chung’s body in his car and drove around southern Taiwan for more than 10 hours, using her mobile phone to make purchases at petrol stations and convenience stores. He later abandoned her body in a forested area in Kaohsiung’s Alian District.
The crime was solved days later through CCTV footage and GPS data, leading to Liang’s arrest.
Liang was sentenced to death in 2022, a decision upheld by the High Court and later the Supreme Court. However, the case was revisited following a 2024 Constitutional Court ruling, which limited the use of the death penalty to cases involving clear premeditation.
Judges reviewing Liang’s appeal ruled that while the crime was extremely violent, prosecutors failed to prove that he had planned the murder in advance. The court also cited psychiatric evaluations indicating impulse control issues and the possibility of rehabilitation through long-term treatment.
As a result, Liang’s death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment, with additional jail terms imposed for robbery, attempted abduction and improper disposal of a body.
The ruling has devastated the victim’s family. Chung’s mother, who attended court hearings throughout the trial, said she felt “betrayed” by the decision, adding that she had “lost justice” along with her daughter.
Prosecutors have voiced strong opposition to the ruling and announced plans to file a final appeal to the Supreme Court, arguing that the brutality of the crime demonstrated extreme cruelty deserving of the harshest punishment.
The decision has triggered widespread public outrage in both Taiwan and Malaysia, with many questioning how a convicted rapist and killer could be deemed capable of rehabilitation.
