Tech firm boss sentenced to life for murdering employee

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) The Taipei District Court on Thursday sentenced the owner of a Taipei-based technology company to life imprisonment and lifelong deprivation of civil rights for fatally stabbing an employee.

The court found Tseng Chih-hsin (曾志新), head of Yun Yun AI Baby Camera Co., Ltd., guilty of a crime of extreme severity, citing the devastating impact on the victim's family and the trauma inflicted on employees. The court also noted that Tseng had not received forgiveness from the victim's family.

The verdict was delivered by a panel of six citizen judges and three professional judges under Taiwan's citizen judge system.

The verdict can be appealed.

According to the ruling, Tseng had long-standing work-related disputes with the victim, the company's chief technology officer surnamed Liang (梁).

After seeing Liang post about the company's operations in an internal social media group on March 6, 2025, and learning he planned to resign the next day, Tseng arranged a meeting with Liang and the human resources head on March 7 to discuss a handover.

At the meeting, Tseng concealed a chef's knife in his vest. He briefly left the room, then returned and stabbed Liang at least nine times in the head, back, and neck.

The human resources head intervened and called for help. With assistance from others, Tseng was disarmed and prevented from attempting suicide, the ruling said.

Liang was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital.

The judges said Tseng acted out of personal distrust, placing unilateral blame on Liang and failing to seek lawful means to resolve the dispute.

While acknowledging that Tseng's actions were partly linked to an adjustment disorder with anxiety and depression, and noting his remorse, the court said risk factors -- including unrealistic expectations for the future -- meant it could not rule out the possibility of reoffending under similar circumstances.