TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Citizen judges in central Taiwan sentenced a woman to 27 years and six months in prison on Friday (March 8) for the 2019 murder of her ex-boyfriend.
In March 2019, a 45-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) in Taichung disappeared without a trace. On Oct. 26, 2022, Chen’s body was discovered inside a plastic barrel filled with concrete under a factory floor in Taichung’s Shengang District. The location had been rented by the defendant, a 35-year-old surnamed Tsai (蔡), the previous year.
Tsai was questioned by police at the time of Chen's disappearance in 2019 and no charges were filed, although she was considered a person of interest. Following the identification of the body, Tsai was arrested in late 2022 on the charge of murder and has been held in detention ever since, maintaining her innocence throughout court proceedings.
After a week of arguments, a panel of judges that included six citizen judges sentenced Tsai on Friday to a total of 27 years and six months for four separate crimes. For the crime of murder, Tsai was given 18 years, with an additional nine years and six months tallied for the crimes of forging documents, fraud and embezzlement, and improper disposal of a corpse, reported UDN.
In 2022, a man surnamed Lin (林) was cleaning out a factory space he had sublet to Tsai, who had redone the space’s concrete floors the year previous. Lin discovered the barrel containing Chen’s body beneath the new concrete floor.
Despite being badly damaged and decomposed; investigators were able to identify Chen by a tattoo on his back. They then used DNA samples of teeth and bones to confirm his identity.
After his body was discovered, reports indicated that Chen owed a large debt to a criminal enterprise, and was himself involved in the loan collection business, having previously been involved in violent disputes. Tsai, who met Chen while working as a hostess, also allegedly had a dispute with Chen over financial matters.
Several nights before he disappeared, Tsai was spotted with Chen in an inebriated state by the victim’s mother as they were leaving the Chen household. Records indicate that Chen checked into a hotel with Tsai, making her one of the last people to see him alive.
Prosecutors presented records to the court indicating that Tsai bought implements used in the disposal of Chen’s body shortly after his disappearance. Records also indicated Tsai forged Chen’s name on a document related to the settlement of his debt and used the victim’s phone after his death to message his daughter, who was convinced for a time that her father was still alive.
Despite successfully arguing the case, prosecutors chose not to seek the death penalty due to lack of physical evidence directly connecting Tsai to a crime scene.