Hsinchu woman convicted for using dead man's prints on promissory note

Taipei, Oct. 9 (CNA) A Hsinchu woman has been handed a suspended sentence of two years in prison for forging a loan agreement and an NT$8.5 million (US$275,974) promissory note while using the fingerprint of a deceased "alleged debtor" at a funeral parlor.

The Hsinchu District Court on Oct. 2 found the woman, surnamed Lee (李), guilty of falsifying a financial document but suspended the sentence for five years, citing her claim that she was protecting her rights as a creditor.

The forged agreement claimed Peng had borrowed NT$8.5 million from Lee, pledged land as collateral and forged his fingerprint on a promissory note, the court said.

The incident occurred around 11 a.m. on Feb. 21, about six hours after the alleged debtor, surnamed Peng (彭), died, the court said.

At that time, Peng's body had just arrived at Hsinchu City Funeral Parlor, with his family preparing for admission, mortuary contractors at the scene told CNA on Thursday.

Lee then asked to "pay her last respects," and went to the bagged body in a hearse, using an ink pad she brought to fingerprint the forged documents with Peng's hand.

A worker noticed her actions and alerted Peng's family and police, who arrested Lee on the spot and confiscated her materials, the mortuary workers said.

In sentencing, the court noted that the forged documents were never used and took into account Lee's confession and cooperation.