The shocking case involving the rape and murder of Malaysian student surnamed Chong at Chang Jung Christian University in Taiwan has seen a reversal of judgment. Kaohsiung man Liang Yuzhi, accused of sexually assaulting and murdering Ms. Chong, was initially given the death penalty in multiple trials; however, on the 29th, the Kaohsiung branch of Taiwan’s High Court overturned the sentence in a second retrial, changing it to life imprisonment.
According to ETtoday News Cloud, the Supreme Court had previously twice revoked the death sentence, instructing the lower court to clarify the relationship among the criminal charges and to investigate whether the accused still had potential for rehabilitation. The case was thus sent back for retrial.
The incident occurred on the night of October 28, 2020. Ms. Chong, a junior student, was walking back to her accommodation from the Guiren campus in Tainan when Liang attacked her from behind with a rope, strangling her and dragging her into nearby undergrowth. Ms. Chong resisted, scratching and biting her attacker, but tragically still lost her life.
Liang then transported the victim’s body, driving around Tainan and Kaohsiung for over ten hours; during this period, he also used the victim’s belongings for purchases, ultimately abandoning the body in the Dagang Mountains of Kaohsiung.
After receiving the report, police quickly identified Liang as a suspect. Around 5 p.m. the next day, police arrested him near his home. At that point, Liang had driven past his own house without going inside, which police suspected was an attempt to observe whether officers were lying in wait.
When first apprehended, Liang vehemently denied his crime and even pretended to bring police to the scene to ‘search for the victim’, trying to mislead the investigation. It was only after police secured crucial evidence of his movements that Liang revealed where he had disposed of the body. Police later found the victim’s blood and DNA in his car and on his person, providing key physical evidence.
After investigation, Liang was sentenced to death in both the first and second trials, with the same ruling maintained in the first retrial. However, the Supreme Court held that the legal relationship between the murder and robbery charges needed further clarification, as well as whether Liang had the intent to kill at the time, and also requested an assessment of his potential for rehabilitation.
Taking these factors into account, the Kaohsiung branch of the Taiwan High Court, in the second retrial, ultimately commuted the sentence to life imprisonment, marking a major reversal in the case. However, the verdict can still be appealed.