New Taipei prosecutors on Monday indicted a man who stabbed to death four passengers on the Taipei metro system in May and recommended that he be given the death penalty because of the brutality of the crime and the suspect's lack of remorse.
The suspect, 21-year-old university student Cheng Chieh, was charged with four counts of murder and 22 counts of attempted murder for his actions on a moving subway train just before the evening rush hour on May 21.
The indictment was handed down as Cheng's two-month detainment period expired Monday.
In defending their request for the death penalty in the indictment, prosecutors described Cheng's behavior as "mass murder," and said that the incident caused collective panic in society and put people on guard when taking public transportation.
They also said his actions had spawned several potential copycats threatening to kill people on public buses or the subway system.
A thorough assessment of Cheng conducted by National Taiwan University Hospital concluded that Cheng has no mental disorders or deficiencies, meaning he is not eligible under Article 19 of Taiwan's Criminal Code to be exempt from punishment for the offense or have the sentence reduced because of mental incompetency, prosecutors said.
In their 8,000-word indictment, prosecutors also focused on the brutality and cruelty of the stabbings, saying that the surveillance footage showed a "scene from hell."
Cheng was seen repeatedly stabbing his victims and even toying with them without showing the slightest sliver of humanity, and he even admitted during his mental evaluation that he felt pleased to have the fate of the passengers in his hands, prosecutors said.
Source: China Times, July 22, 2014
