TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Ministry of Justice (法務部) executed Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱) by firing squad on Thursday (Jan. 16), marking the first execution under President Lai Ching-te's (賴清德) administration. Huang faced the death penalty for the 2013 murders of his ex-girlfriend and her mother, driven by a dispute over debt collection. The Supreme Court sentenced him to death in 2017.
This execution ended nearly five years without capital punishment in Taiwan. The last execution occurred in 2020 when authorities executed Weng Jen-hsien (翁仁賢) for setting a fire in Longtan District (龍潭區) that killed six family members. The Supreme Court upheld Weng's death sentence in July 2019.
During former President Tsai Ing-wen's (蔡英文) tenure, two individuals, including Weng and Li Hung-chi (李宏基), faced execution. Li received the death penalty for the 2014 murder of his ex-wife and the subsequent abduction of their young daughter, whom he attempted to kill by carbon monoxide poisoning. Authorities executed him on Aug. 31, 2018.
The infamous Taipei Metro random killing case also saw Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) executed. The Supreme Court sentenced him to death on April 22, 2016, and he was executed just 19 days later due to the severity of his crimes.
