Supreme Court upholds life sentence for man guilty of killing twin sons

Taipei, Sept. 19 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by a Taichung man found guilty of murdering his twin sons nearly five years ago, upholding his life imprisonment sentence.

The Supreme Court's decision found that the ruling of the Taichung Branch of the Taiwan High Court against the individual, surnamed Chen (陳), was not flawed, and upheld its findings.

The verdict was final and cannot be appealed.

Chen was arrested by police in an internet café in Changhua County on Nov. 8, 2019 on suspicion of killing his live-in girlfriend and their 11-month old sons in a rented apartment in downtown Taichung earlier that week.

The swollen bodies of the three were found by police after neighboring tenants complained of a foul smell coming from Chen's apartment, according to police at that time.

During questioning, he confessed to choking his girlfriend to death after a heated argument over money and other issues, police said, adding that he then threw his two boys into a washing machine with a bed quilt to suffocate them to death.

Chen was 30 years old when he committed the crime.

He was cited by police as saying that he lost his job at a gas station in August that year (2019) and had stayed at home to take care of the two babies, with his girlfriend working at a hostess club to support them.

In September, 2020, the Taichung District Court sentenced Chen to 13 years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend.

For the death of the twin boys, the court handed down the death sentence, which Chen appealed, but the High Court upheld the decision due to the severity of the crimes.

However, the defendant again appealed the ruling, and in August 2022, the Supreme Court ordered a re-trial, arguing that the reasons cited for capital punishment could not be justified.

The case was then reheard by the Taichung branch of the High Court, and in June this year it revoked Chen's original sentence and instead handed down a sentence of life imprisonment.

According to the High Court, Chen had shown remorse and there was a chance he could be rehabilitated and later reintegrated into society.