TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors are seeking a minimum of life in prison for a man surnamed Chen (陳) who was indicted on Monday (Oct. 26) and is alleged to have physically abused a three-year-old girl and compelled her to take narcotics before murdering her and disposing of her body.
The Nantou District Prosecutors Office issued a press release Monday to announce the results of their completed investigation into the case. According to the release, the abuse took place at locations in Nantou City and Taichung City from Feb. 14 to June 4 of this year.
Chen in an earlier incident reportedly used blunt objects to fracture the girl’s skull and cause a subdural hemorrhage. When she received treatment at that time, Chen is said to have claimed the injuries resulted from her being hit by a car.
In addition to using blunt objects to beat the child, the defendant is also said to have used a shoehorn and bamboo sticks. To prevent her from running around, he would use adhesive tape to bind her head and cover her eyes; he would also force her to sleep on the floor.
When Chen drugged the girl with methamphetamine and FM2 on June 7, she suffocated and died.
To cover up his crimes, Chen colluded with the girl's biological mother surnamed Peng (彭), who is his former girlfriend. Another man surnamed Tsai (蔡) assisted in transporting the body and burying it in a shallow grave in Nantou County.
Prosecutors are seeking a minimum of life in prison for Chen.
As for Peng, prosecutors are seeking two years and six months of imprisonment for her negligence and collusion with the alleged murderer.
Tsai was indicted for abandoning a corpse, but prosecutors did not propose a penalty.
