Supreme Court finalizes life term for organizer of 61 kidnappings

Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) The Supreme Court on Monday upheld a life sentence given to the organizer of 61 kidnappings that led to the deaths of three captives in 2022.

According to the ruling, Tu Cheng-che (杜承哲) and his co-conspirators lured people to rented residences in Taoyuan's Zhongli District and New Taipei's Tamsui District under the pretense of offering them payments for the use of their bank accounts or high-paying jobs.

Once there, the victims were unlawfully detained, beaten, tasered, handcuffed and drugged to keep them subdued, the ruling said.

The group also robbed 50 of the captives of their belongings and used their bank accounts to collect and launder funds from large-scale fraud operations.

According to prosecutors, one victim died after falling from a bathroom window while trying to escape, while two others died due to a lack of timely medical treatment. Their bodies were later dumped in mountainous areas in Taoyuan and Nantou County.

The case came to light after police raided the group's hideouts, freeing 58 people who were still being held captive.

Tu recruited several accomplices, including Hsueh Lung-ting (薛隆廷), Hung Chun-chieh (洪俊杰), and Wang Yu-chieh (王昱傑), to help direct and manage the group's illicit activities, the ruling said.

After a period of time on the run, Tu was arrested and charged with unlawful confinement resulting in death, aggravated assault, and organized crime.

Both the Shilin District Court and the Taiwan High Court sentenced him in 2024 to life imprisonment and deprivation of civil rights for life. The Supreme Court on Monday rejected his appeal, making the ruling final.

The High Court upheld life terms for Tu, Hsueh, and Hung, while reducing Wang's sentence to 26 years due to his lesser role. Monday's ruling concluded all prosecutions in the case.

Another of Tu's accomplices, Fu Yu-lin (傅榆藺), and 28 others were indicted earlier and handed life or lengthy prison sentences, which were upheld by the Supreme Court in December 2024.