First case of capital punishment during President Lai Ching-te’s term

First case of capital punishment during President Lai Ching-te’s term

2025-01-17

Huang Lin-kai, an inmate on death row convicted in a 2013 double murder, was executed by firing squad on Thursday night. It was the first execution since President Lai Ching-te took office. Huang, who murdered his ex-girlfriend and her mother, was also the first instance of capital punishment since the Constitutional Court made a ruling last September that severely tightened the conditions under which the death penalty can be administered. The last such execution was in 2020 and currently there are 36 inmates on death row in Taiwan.

At 10:02 p.m. on Jan. 16, a gunshot pierced the quiet night sky over the Taipei Detention Center. Huang Lin-kai, a prisoner on death row, was officially executed.

Law enforcement officers burnt paper money, symbolizing that the execution was over. At 10:23 p.m., Huang Lin-kai’s body was sent to the New Taipei City Funeral Parlour.

On Oct. 1, 2013, Huang Lin-kai, who was a soldier at the time, had an argument with his girlfriend, and then nurtured a grudge. He sneaked into his girlfriend’s home and used a pioneering rope to strangle her mother to death. He then waited until 5p.m. when his girlfriend returned home, before he tied her hands together using the same rope and proceeded to rape her. After that, he strangled her the same way he had strangled her mother.

Cheng Ming-chien
Justice Minister
The death row inmate surnamed Huang committed the most serious crime, so this ministry was extremely rigorous and prudent in carrying out the death penalty in accordance with the law to achieve justice.

Huang Lin-kai is not only the first death row inmate to be executed by firing squad after the Constitutional Court made a ruling last September that further limited the conditions under which the death penalty can be applied. He’s also the first case of capital punishment during President Lai Ching-te’s term.

Lai Ching-te
President
According to the ruling made by the Constitutional Court under the Judicial Yuan, the death penalty is constitutional and not unconstitutional. Therefore I very much hope that the public can support the Ministry of Justice administering this according to the law. At the same time, I would also like to express my condolences to the families of victims. After so many years, it’s been tough on everyone.

After a break of 1,751 days, a death row inmate has once again stepped into the firing line. The last time a prisoner on death row was executed was five years ago, when the Tsai Ing-wen government executed one Weng Jen-hsien, who killed six of his relatives in Taoyuan by setting fire to them. There are still 36 more prisoners on death row, awaiting execution.

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賴清德上台首度執行死刑法務部:死刑合憲依法行政

2025-01-17

殘忍殺害前女友，以及前女友母親的死刑犯”黃麟凱”，昨晚槍決！黃麟凱不但是憲法法庭去年9/20做出「憲判字8號」，限縮死刑判決及執行門檻後，首位遭槍決的死刑犯，這也是總統賴清德上任後，首度執行的死刑，五年前，蔡政府槍決在桃園縱火燒死6至親的翁仁賢，時隔1751天再度有死囚踏上刑場，目前還沒執行的死囚累計還有36人。

16日晚間10點02分，一聲槍響，劃破北所的寧靜夜空，死刑犯黃麟凱正式伏法。

當執法人員開始燒紙錢，代表槍決結束，晚間10點23分，黃麟凱的遺體，被送往板橋殯儀館。

2013年10月1日，時任軍人的黃麟凱，與女友起口角後懷恨在心，潛入女友家中，用童軍繩勒斃女友媽媽，接著等下午5點，女友回家時，再用童軍繩，綁住女友雙手進行性侵，最後再用同樣手法，勒死女友。

[[法務部長鄭銘謙]]
“黃姓的死刑犯，是屬於犯罪情節最嚴重的犯行，所以本部對這一次的執行，是非常嚴謹審慎，依法執行死刑，實現正義”

黃麟凱不但是憲法法庭去年9/20做出「憲判字8號」，限縮死刑判決及執行門檻後，首位遭槍決的死刑犯，也是賴清德總統任期首位。

[[總統賴清德]]
“根據司法院憲法法庭的判決，死刑是合憲的，並沒有違憲，因此，我非常希望社會大眾，能夠支持法務部依法行政，同時，我也要向受害的家屬，表達慰問之意，這麼多年，大家辛苦了”

時隔1751天，再度有死囚踏上刑場，上回有死囚伏法，是五年前，當時蔡政府槍決在桃園縱火燒死6名至親的翁仁賢。目前還沒執行的死囚累計還有36人。

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DPP spokesperson Justin Wu decries several budget cuts proposed by opposition parties. Some of the proposals included eliminating the media budget for all ministries. The opposition also proposed cutting the operational budgets of the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the National Communications Commission, and the Mainland Affairs Council to just NT$1, claiming the three ministries serve no function.

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Justin Wu
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Wang Hung-wei says she doubts whether the firefighting equipment can be used if a war were to break out, so that’s why she’s cutting it. I find this reason to be absolutely ridiculous. Lai Shyh-bao says he’s cutting regular administrative fees under the National Police Agency. He says the tasks can be done by the police officers themselves. So, Lai Shyh-bao, you won’t even let the officers off the hook. Are you asking them to do the cleaning?

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The DPP decries the opposition’s budget cut proposals as revenge on the ruling party that will hamper the functioning of the country.

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At the Taipei-Shanghai Twin City Forum at the end of last year, Hua Yuan, a deputy mayor of Shanghai, said in a speech that his government would show goodwill and allow group tours from Shanghai to visit Taiwan.

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Over the Lunar New Year, hotel booking rates in Hualien and Taitung will be only at 20% to 30%. During the nine-day holiday over the Lunar New Year, everyone’s going abroad. I believe that our performance in the hotels and lodging industry, including those related to tourism, will at least pick up to more than 50%.

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China reports that infections of flu-like human metapneumovirus - known as HMPV - are down in the northern part of the country. In recent weeks, reports of rising cases of the virus in the country where COVID-19 began sparked worries of another potential pandemic.

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One of Taiwan’s best kept secrets is its breakfast culture. People go out for breakfast more often than for any other meal of the day! There are lots of morning options available in cities, and there are fierce north-south divides over the menu too. One owner of a chain of successful breakfast eateries has opened up about his ambition to take the Taiwanese breakfast global. He grew up in a breakfast diner family in Pingtung, before carving out a niche in Taipei. This undiscovered gem of Taiwanese life is ready for the global stage, he says.

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We aim to follow the kendo concept of “shuhari:” Preserve the classics, break with tradition and transcend something new.

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