Supreme Court upholds 15-year sentence for Filipino man in murder case

Taipei, Feb. 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Supreme Court has upheld a 15-year sentence for a Filipino migrant worker convicted of murdering a fellow countryman and endangering the lives of others in 2023.

The ruling, which was issued on Feb. 11 and is final, upheld the lower courts' sentences after finding no legal errors in the lower court judgments.

According to the original verdict, the Changhua District Court found Filipino national Dizon Benjie San Agustin guilty of homicide and endangerment for murdering a fellow migrant worker in Changhua County and endangering the lives of others.

Agustin apparently decided to kill his victim when his attempts to reconcile with his estranged wife failed, according to the district court.

He tried to save his marriage by returning to the Philippines from December 2022 to January 2023, but found out during the trip that the victim told Agustin's estranged wife that Agustin had a girlfriend in Taiwan, the initial verdict indicated.

After attempts at reconciliation failed, Agustin purchased gasoline, a blow torch, and a sickle in Taiwan between Nov. 18 and Nov. 22, 2023, and hid the items inside a workers' dormitory.

Around 12 a.m. on the morning of Nov. 23, 2023, Agustin doused the room occupied by the deceased and a roommate.

After setting the room ablaze, he blocked the door from the outside to prevent the occupants from escaping.

The victim and his roommate eventually breached the door, but Agustin reportedly attacked his victim with a sickle in an effort to force him back into the room.

Although both occupants eventually managed to escape the room, Agustin's main target sustained lacerations and fractures to his head and chest on top of burns to his face and torso.

Efforts to save the man failed, and he passed away on Dec. 16, 2023.

Meanwhile, the roommate survived the ordeal with burns to his limbs and back.

● Filipino worker sentenced to 15 years for murder of fellow countryman

The Changhua verdict also indicated that after setting fire to the room, Agustin later took flammable liquid to a second room inside the dormitory and sprayed it onto the face of another migrant worker who suffered from shock.

Although local firefighters were able to put the fire out and save the dorm, the verdict indicated that the location still sustained property damage to the wall divisions and air conditioning units.

The Changhua District Court eventually sentenced Agustin to 15 years in prison for homicide on Aug. 7, 2025, and gave him an additional six months for endangerment, which could be commuted to a fine.

Agustin subsequently appealed his case, but the Taiwan High Court Taichung Branch upheld the verdict of the Changhua District Court.

With the Supreme Court also upholding the original ruling on Feb. 11, Agustin's sentencing is deemed final.