TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Kaohsiung Branch of the Taiwan High Court has upheld the death sentence for a man convicted of murdering a Malaysian university student, following a Supreme Court order to reexamine the case, according to UDN.

The crime occurred in 2020, when Liang Yu-chih (梁育誌) abducted and murdered a female student surnamed Chong (鍾) from Chang Jung Christian University. This marks the third time that courts have sentenced Liang to death in connection with the case.

Liang was initially convicted of premeditated murder and rape, receiving the death penalty. However, his defense team appealed, arguing that only the rape had been premeditated and that the murder was not his original intent. The appeal led to a retrial.

In the retrial, Liang was once again found guilty of murder and sentenced to death in January. He also received a separate prison sentence for the rape charges. This ruling became the first death sentence in Taiwan following the Constitutional Court’s September 2024 decision affirming the constitutionality of capital punishment for the most serious crimes.

Despite the reaffirmed verdict, the Supreme Court called for a reevaluation of the death sentence amid concerns that Liang may suffer from a mental illness or disability—factors that would exempt him from the death penalty under the Constitutional Court’s guidelines.

Upon review, the Kaohsiung High Court concluded that Liang did not suffer from any mental illness, that his actions were premeditated, and that he posed a continued threat to society with little to no chance of rehabilitation.

The court reaffirmed the death sentence, and the verdict is now final with no further possibility of appeal.