In April last year, in Shuangxi District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, a man surnamed Lian reported his neighbor, a man surnamed Jian, to the Environmental Protection Bureau after enduring Jian long-term dumping of excrement around their home. As a result, Lian was attacked with a knife, his head was beaten with a stone, and his eyes were gouged out by hand, leaving him blind and unable to care for himself. On August 8th, Father's Day, Lian's son made a post on social media, stating that he still can't forget the sight of the hospital handing him his father's eyeballs. To this day, there has not been a single apology from Jian or his family, which fills him with grief. He lamented that the world his father once saw is now forever colorless and that his grandmother, who raised his father, now cries herself to sleep every day, living in guilt.
Lian became blind and was attacked with a knife after reporting Jian to the Environmental Protection Bureau last year. During the trial at Keelung District Court, it was found that Jian's actions were cruel and he showed no remorse; he was sentenced to 14 years and 6 months for attempted murder. On Father's Day, Lian’s son spoke out in pain, saying, 'Even now, we haven't heard a single apology from the defendant or his family. The defendant's mother even described my father as a bad neighbor in front of the media, not believing her own son did anything wrong at all.'
Lian’s son said that the image of the hospital handing him his father's eyeballs still haunts him. He described his father as strong, fond of collecting various items, and enjoyed recording life on his phone, but now, just because he 'sought help through proper channels from the Environmental Protection Bureau,' he ended up being attacked violently the day after the Bureau required Jian’s family to sign an affidavit promising not to violate rules again, and even received two critical illness notices as a result.
Furthermore, the 87-year-old grandmother who watched Lian grow up had just barely recovered from the pain of losing her husband the previous year. She was running an appliance store with him, feeling that 'life was slowly getting better,' but this social case shattered everything. Not only did she lose the son she most depended on, but she also lived in fear of retaliation and dared not stay in the home she had lived in for 60 years, washing her face with tears every day in self-blame.
Lian’s son admitted that there are three siblings in the family, and since their father's tragedy, their entire lives have been changed. The three took turns taking leave from work to care for their father, resulting in reduced income while also facing immense caregiving costs every month. Even more irreparable is the heartbreak they feel, and their father now faces a lifetime of rehabilitation and darkness. He laments that this incident caused his family immense harm and hopes that no one else will ever have to experience the same thing.