Kang Jian Biotech Shooting Case: Taichung High Court Re-trial Upholds Death Penalty for Li Hongyuan

(CNA, Taichung, June 24) The Kang Jian Biotech shooting case in Nantou County, which resulted in 4 deaths and 1 injury, saw the perpetrator Li Hongyuan sentenced to life imprisonment for one charge, with previous trials imposing three death sentences. Following a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court, the Taichung High Court's first re-trial on June 24 upheld the death penalty for all three murder charges, stripping him of his civil rights for life. The verdict is appealable.

According to the prosecution's indictment, Li Hongyuan, formerly a production section staff member at Kang Jian Biotech, had a dispute with the production section chief over machine operation issues. He was subsequently transferred to the horticulture section. Believing that the company's CEO Lai Min-nan and Lai's daughter deliberately orchestrated his transfer and instructed the horticulture section chief surnamed Liu to make things difficult for him, Li attacked the production section chief with an iron bar before resigning.

Li Hongyuan's properties were subject to provisional seizure due to a previous attempted murder charge. Although the court later revoked the provisional seizure and canceled the foreclosure registration, he harbored resentment and sought revenge against Lai Min-nan and others.

On July 14, 2022, Li Hongyuan allegedly carried out a series of execution-style shootings near the Kang Jian company's workshop and office, fatally shooting Liu, Lai's brother, Lai's daughter, and a female employee surnamed Zhang in the head. He also shot Lai Min-nan in the head, causing severe injuries, before fleeing. Police apprehended Li Hongyuan based on leads and indicted him on charges including murder, seeking the death penalty.

In the first trial, the Nantou District Court sentenced Li Hongyuan to one life imprisonment and three death sentences for murder. For charges of obstructing freedom and shooting Lai Min-nan causing severe injury, he received sentences ranging from 7 months to 13 years. The combined sentence was death, with the forfeiture of civil rights for life. The Taichung High Court upheld the original verdict on appeal. Li Hongyuan appealed to the third instance.

The Supreme Court, citing the Constitutional Court's Interpretation No. 8 of 2024, ruled that multiple murder charges should be sentenced individually. Therefore, it overturned Li Hongyuan's three death sentences and remanded the case to the Taichung High Court for retrial. Appeals for other charges, including murder, firearms offenses, attempted murder, and deprivation of personal liberty, were dismissed, and those verdicts became final. Li Hongyuan is currently serving his sentence.

Following the first re-trial, the collegiate bench found that Li Hongyuan committed three counts of murder, each carried out in a cruel, execution-style manner. This not only directly deprived multiple lives but also shattered families, inflicting irreparable trauma on the victims' relatives. The court deemed this to be a case of "most severe criminal circumstances" and concluded that there was no reasonable expectation that rehabilitation or education could reduce the risk of him re-offending in similarly severe crimes.

After deliberation, the collegiate bench unanimously decided to impose the death penalty for each of the three murder charges against Li Hongyuan, along with the forfeiture of his civil rights for life. The verdict is still subject to appeal. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 06/24/2024

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