A 38-year-old nurse was killed in Taiwan after a Mercedes driver allegedly turned his car around and ran her over a second time after initially hitting her while she was crossing a road.
The incident happened at around 1.10am on September 8 along Liuchuan East Road in Taichung. The victim, identified by her surname Chen, was reportedly walking home after finishing work when she was struck by a Mercedes driven by a 30-year-old man, identified by his surname Lin.
The impact reportedly threw Chen about 40 metres. Instead of stopping to call for help, Lin allegedly made a U-turn at an intersection and drove back over her before fleeing the scene.
Chen suffered catastrophic head injuries and died at the scene.
The case has sparked public debate over the alleged motive behind the second collision. Reports suggested Lin may have feared criminal consequences or wanted to avoid potentially high compensation costs, amid the controversial notion sometimes expressed in the heavy vehicle industry that it is better to kill an injured victim than leave them severely disabled and facing lifelong medical and care expenses.
However, lawyer Liu Chien-chih warned that such thinking could lead to far more serious legal and financial consequences.
He explained that a normal traffic accident resulting in death would generally be handled as negligent homicide under Article 276 of Taiwan’s Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, detention or a fine of up to NT$500,000.
In this case, however, Liu said the first collision could generally be considered negligent, while allegedly turning around and deliberately running over the victim a second time could constitute intentional homicide under Article 271. The offence carries the death penalty, life imprisonment or at least 10 years in prison.
Liu also pointed out that serious intentional homicide cases are now handled by citizen judges in Taiwan, and said cases involving particularly malicious circumstances have generally resulted in heavier sentences than those handed down solely by professional judges.
The lawyer further rejected the idea that deliberately killing an injured person would necessarily reduce compensation costs. The victim’s parents, spouse and children may each seek compensation for emotional distress.
If each eligible family member were to claim NT$3 million, the total compensation could potentially reach tens of millions of Taiwan dollars.
As a result, Liu said deliberately killing someone could mean facing not only a severe criminal sentence but also substantial civil claims from the victim’s family — meaning the financial consequences may ultimately be even greater.
