Woman sentenced to 14.5 years in jail for murder of Thai domestic helper

Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) A woman in Keelung received a 14.5-year prison sentence for murdering a Thai domestic helper she hired illegally last year, the Keelung District Court ruled Thursday.

The woman, surnamed Lin (林), posted an ad on a Facebook group on May 6, 2024 to hire a domestic helper, to which Thai national Suthida Sansang answered and they met at Lin's home later that day, the court said in a statement released following the ruling.

On May 10, Lin took Suthida Sansang to Dawulun Fort in a mountainous area of Keelung bordering New Taipei's coastal district of Wanli, and tried to abandon the illegally hired domestic helper, according to the district court.

However, Suthida Sansang refused to remain in the rural mountainous area and the two began to argue before Lin hit her with a helmet and stabbed her several times, the court said.

The Thai woman managed to run away and hide in the grass, while Lin disposed of the knife and Suthida Sansang's mobile phone before leaving the scene, the court said.

Suthida Sansang bled to death.

Although Lin admitted to having attacked Suthida Sansang, who died as a result, she denied intending to kill the Thai woman during the trial, according to the court.

However, the court noted that Lin has not paid the Thai woman's family reasonable compensation, despite having apologized for the incident.

In addition, the court found that Lin used greater than normal force to hit and stab the victim in specific parts of her anatomy, and left her to die.

The three judges and six citizen judges picked to hear the criminal trial decided the 14.5-year prison term for the murder, which carries a minimum jail time of 10 years, because Lin is a single mother with young children following her divorce from her Taiwanese husband.

They also took into consideration Lin's drug addiction and the fact she was a migrant worker from Thailand herself before getting married, the court said in the statement.

The case can be appealed.