TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A sister of one of the police officers who was fatally stabbed by a fugitive on Thursday (Aug. 25) angrily told a death penalty abolition group to go to the "18 layers of hell."
On Monday morning (Aug. 22), a 46-year-old suspect identified as Lin Hsin-wu (林信吾) fatally stabbed 36 year-old Tu Ming-cheng (凃明誠) and 27 year-old Tsao Jui-chieh (曹瑞傑) when they tried to apprehend him for stealing a scooter. Lin claims that he perpetrated the assault because he had become enraged when an officer doused him with pepper spray and stabbed Tu 17 times and Tsao 38 times.
During an interview with the media at Tainan City Funeral Home on Thursday, Tu's eldest sister lashed out at the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP). She angrily asked, "Do you still insist on the abolition of the death penalty? Have you seen how the two men died so miserably? Do you respect my brother's human rights?"
After officials on the scene tried to calm her, she took a breath and then said, "This sentence is what I will say on behalf of the bereaved families of the victims, in place of the victim's surviving family members, who stay up every night in tears." Again becoming enraged, she shouted an expletive cursing the TAEDP, also declaring "You can all go to the 18 Levels of Hell!"
In response, the TAEDP issued a statement that afternoon:
"At the moment that (news) about the case broke, we, like everyone else, did not know the whole picture, so speaking rashly would not help with the handling of the case. The developments with the Tainan murder case over the past few days prove once again that the media wants to 'report,' politicians are rushing to talk, and the investigation unit is eager to solve the case, which almost led to an unjust outcome. This is the last thing we need right now.
In addition to waiting for the truth about the judicial investigation to make a verdict, the most important thing now is to take care of the emotions of the victims' families and the police, and give comfort and confidence, especially to police officers who are on the same squad as the victims. They must have suffered a lot of shock and trauma. Later, it is hoped that the government can continue to carry out the reform of police service, training, equipment, performance, and other systems from the perspective of the needs of police, to ensure social security and truly take care of police families. In addition to providing necessary assistance to the families of victims, relevant units should also face up to the shortage of police manpower and improve police training."
The group also issued three main points of emphasis: "Don't make scapegoats," "Don't make fake news," and "Please make reports that are helpful to society." The authors reiterated that when a major criminal case has occurred it is not suitable to discuss whether the death penalty should be abolished.
"We can imagine the anger of the family members and respect their words, but we have no intention of increasing the psychological burden on the family members, so we will not respond to this," read a statement from the group.
