Supreme Court upholds life sentence for man guilty of double homicide

Taipei, July 30 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a life sentence handed to Yang Hung-ju (楊鴻儒), a man found guilty of murdering two friends and stuffing their bodies into metal barrels before disposing of them in Hualien County in 2015.

The immediate cause of the murders stemmed from Yang's jealousy over his friend's girlfriend in the first case and a gambling dispute in the second case, according to court documents.

According to the Taichung District Court's first-instance ruling, Yang had known the first victim surnamed Chen (陳) for many years and coveted Chen's wealthy girlfriend. After deciding to pursue the woman, Yang determined to kill Chen who he viewed as an obstacle.

On June 27, 2025, Yang lured Chen to Nantou County on the pretext of taking a sightseeing trip to the central Taiwan county, driving from Chen's residence in Wuri District, Taichung. During the journey, Yang gave Chen food laced with sedatives, causing him to lose consciousness.

Yang then stuffed Chen into a metal barrel, transported it to a mountain roadside along Provincial Highway 8 in Hualien County and pushed it into a ravine, causing Chen's death by suffocation.

In another incident, Yang met the second victim surnamed Lai (賴) through mahjong gambling. Lai suspected Yang of cheating and repeatedly threatened to report him to the police.

On July 12, 2015, Yang feigned reconciliation and invited Lai on a trip to Taitung County before drugging him and stuffing him into a metal barrel. Yang then enlisted an unsuspecting friend to help transport the barrel which was also abandoned near the first victim in Hualien, leading to Lai's death also by suffocation.

In the first and second trials and first retrial, the Taichung District Court and the Taichung branch of the High Court sentenced Yang to the death penalty, citing the accused as being without remorse and unlikely to be rehabilitated.

After Yang appealed the case, the Supreme Court later overturned the death sentence, remanding the case for retrial in 2023.

In the second retrial, the Taichung branch of the High Court ruled in January this year that the prolonged duration of legal proceedings warranted a sentence reduction under the Criminal Speedy Trial Act.

In addition, given that Yang is in his 70s, the court suggested that the risk of reoffending after long-term imprisonment would be significantly diminished due to his advanced age.

Taking into account these factors, the court decided to commute the death penalty to life imprisonment and upheld the lifelong deprivation of civil rights.

Following an appeal by prosecutors, that ruling was upheld by the Supreme Court on Wednesday and cannot be appealed.