In 2018, a Taoyuan City resident surnamed Liang used a knife to decapitate his mother and threw the head from their 12th floor apartment. He was sentenced to life in the first ruling. A second ruling acquitted him on the grounds that he was on drugs during the incident and therefore not in control of his actions.
This man surnamed Liang walks out of the courthouse, and softly tells the assembled reporters, "thank you" before he is whisked away by health officials.
In 2018, Liang used a knife to attack his own mother, decapitated her, and threw her head out of their 12th floor apartment into a courtyard below, frightening neighbors. The first ruling found that he had a drug-induced mental disorder, which affected his recognition ability, and sentenced him to life. The ruling was appealed, and the second ruling reversed the original ruling and acquitted Liang.
The defendant has been found innocent. During the fact confirmation process, it was found that the defendant had murdered a blood relative. The reasons why he was found innocent are because the defendant said he had taken amphetamines before the incident and urine and hair tests of the defendant after the incident showed the presence of not only amphetamines, but also acetone-based drugs.
The court determined that Liang was a long-time drug user and took amphetamines and cathinone-class drugs prior to the incident. A psychiatric evaluation found the defendant acted precisely at the time when the effects of the cathinone-class drugs were the strongest and he lost his recognition ability. His sister and neighbors all confirmed that he got along with his mother, so there was no motive. Therefore, the court cited Article 19 of the Criminal Code, which says "an offense is not punishable if it is committed by a person who has a mental disorder or defect and as a result is unable or less able to judge his act or lack the ability to act according to his judgment" in acquitting Liang. The court also placed him in the custody of Taoyuan City's Department of Public Health.
The two rulings are completely opposite, and this ruling doesn't meet society's expectations. With regards to what we can do, we will work with a psychiatric hospital and recovery institutions to carry out the best professional evaluation.
People might misunderstand this ruling, so I urge everyone, especially young people, not to think that they can do whatever they want just because they lose their recognition ability due to alcohol or drugs.
The Taiwan High Prosecutors' Office has decided to appeal this ruling. Liang will be taken to a medical clinic for another assessment. If he meets the requirements for hospitalization, he will be placed in a medical emergency ward. The majority of patients stay hospitalized for six to eight weeks and are transferred to the chronic disease ward or recovery institutions after treatment. If he doesn't meet the requirements for hospitalization, he will be placed under the care of nursing institutions. Meanwhile, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office announced that Liang was sentenced to detainment, preventing this assessment from proceeding.
There is a related detention in this case that he needs to serve, so the district prosecutors' office will shortly send someone here to take him away.
Liang was handcuffed and transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors' Office to serve a 55-day sentence for assault. He needs to complete this sentence before the evaluation can take place.