Taiwan High Court acquits man imprisoned for murder of student in 1993

Taipei, Sept. 25 (CNA) The Taiwan High Court on Thursday acquitted baker Lu Chin-kai (呂金鎧) in a retrial of the 1993 murder of a female National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) student, overturning a 20-year prison sentence.

"I thank the judges for believing that I am innocent," Lu said after the verdict.

Speaking to reporters, Lu said Taiwan's judicial system in 1993 was not as advanced as it is today.

"I really did not do this thing. Now that I have been found not guilty, I can provide an answer to my deceased parents and to society," Lu said.

In a news release, the Taiwan Innocence Project urged prosecutors not to appeal so that Lu's long fight for exoneration can come to an end.

The civil society group detailed the case's history, saying Lu was detained in 1994 and that his conviction was finalized in 2006, which led to his wrongful imprisonment.

The Taiwan Innocence Project, which began assisting him in 2012, said new DNA testing proved his innocence.

On Dec. 22, 1993, a NCHU student went to a third-floor apartment in Zhonghe City, Taipei County -- now New Taipei City's Zhonghe District -- for a tutoring job interview.

Prosecutors and police said Chen Hsi-ching (陳錫卿), who had a prior sexual offense record, and had been living there with Lu after being paroled on Dec. 17 that year, lured the female student to the apartment under the pretext of hiring a tutor.

They said he and Lu subdued and sexually assaulted her and strangled her to death by tying underwear around her neck.

The Banqiao District Court in 1994 initially sentenced both men to death.

After multiple Supreme Court remands, the Taiwan High Court at its sixth retrial ruled that Lu tied a knot around her neck that did not cause death, while Chen later tied a fatal knot, leading to a 20-year sentence for Lu and a death sentence for Chen.

Lu accepted the sixth-retrial verdict without appealing. Chen continued to appeal and was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2009.

Lu was paroled in 2012 and later applied for a retrial. The Taiwan High Court approved a new trial in April this year, and on Thursday declared him not guilty.