Taiwan district court orders perpetrator to compensate parents of murdered Malaysian student with US$192,000

Back in October 2020, Irene Chung, a 24-year-old female Malaysian student was abducted and later sexually assaulted, killed by a Taiwanese male. Irence Chung was a student studying at Taiwan's Chang Jung Christian University in Tainan. The culprit named Liang Yuzhi later abandoned CHung's body in a mountainous area. Liang's demonic act shocked the entire community in Malaysia and Taiwan. Liang was sentenced to death for the charge of murder in the second trial in March 2023. As for the civil part, Chung's parents sought compensation of 20 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 649,600 USD). On Monday (15 May), the Taiwan Kaohsiung District Court Qiaotou Branch announced the judgment, ruling that Liang should compensate over 5.94 million New Taiwan Dollars (approximately 192,931 USD). The case is subject to appeal. According to reports from Taiwanese media, the incident occurred on the evening of October 28, 2020. Chung returned to her rental place from school, and before that, she had a phone call with a classmate. However, after that, her phone couldn't be reached. Worried, her classmate alerted to the police and posted a search request online. The police traced Liang and found the location where the body was abandoned, Mount A-Lian in Kaohsiung City, based on his confession. Taiwan police discovered that the female student had been dead for a while. Liang confessed that he had previously attempted to abduct someone nearby but was unsuccessful. He defended that his intention was to commit sexual assault but accidentally killed Chung. However, after a detailed investigation by the police and prosecutor, it was revealed that the victim had marks of strangulation on her neck and signs of bleeding from the nose and mouth, indicating death by suffocation. The forensic examiner also found evidence suggesting sexual assault before the victim's death. Based on the examination results, the prosecutor re-interrogated Liang again, eventually Liang confessed that he sexually assaulted Chung before strangling her to death.

Kaohsiung High Court upheld Liang's death sentence in March 2023

On 23 March, the Kaohsiung High Court upheld Liang's death sentence, rejecting his appeal. The case can still be appealed. During the first trial, it was revealed that Liang, in order to satisfy his personal sexual desires, attempted to sexually assault another female student on September 30, 2020. He then studied online how to tie a "hanging knot" and prepared a rope loop and binoculars hidden in his car. On October 28, 2020, he targeted Chung and strangled her, sexual assaulted Chung before abandoned her body to Mount A-Lian.

Judge condemned Liang's action toward the victim were "extremely brutal and perverse"

The judge condemned Liang's methods of dragging, sexually assaulting, and strangling the victim were "extremely brutal and perverse", adding that Liang had premeditated the crime and made obvious preparations by searching for information online. However, during the trial, Liang astonishingly denied having any intention to kill, downplayed the details of sexual assault and murder, revealing a lack of remorse after committing the crime. The judge also discovered that Liang had sent a letter of apology directly to the Kaohsiung City government while in prison. The letter was eventually forwarded to the parents of the female student in Malaysia. However, the mother of the female student not only returned the letter to the court unopened, but upon examination by the court, it was found that the handwriting in the letter did not match Liang's. Therefore, the judge concluded that Liang's apology was insincere and merely an attempt to seek leniency. The assessment results also indicate that Liang has the "highest risk" of reoffending. Judge concludes that due to the probability of Liang committing another sexual or violent crime upon release, exceeding 50% even with a life imprisonment without parole sentence, there is a permanent need for him to be isolated from the community.