Taipei: The Taiwan High Court on Thursday acquitted baker Lu Chin-kai in a retrial of the 1993 murder of a female National Chung Hsing University (NCHU) student, overturning a 20-year prison sentence. "I thank the judges for believing that I am innocent," Lu said after the verdict. Speaking to reporters, Lu reflected on the state of Taiwan's judicial system in 1993, noting its lack of advancement compared to today. "I really did not do this thing. Now that I have been found not guilty, I can provide an answer to my deceased parents and to society," he added.
According to Focus Taiwan, the Taiwan Innocence Project urged prosecutors not to appeal the decision, allowing Lu's long struggle for justice to conclude. The civil society group highlighted the history of the case, revealing that Lu was detained in 1994 and his conviction was finalized in 2006, resulting in his wrongful imprisonment. The Taiwan Innocence Project, which began assisting Lu in 2012, stated that new DNA testing had proved his innocence.
The case dates back to December 22, 1993, when a NCHU student visited a third-floor apartment in Zhonghe City, Taipei County-now New Taipei City's Zhonghe District-for a tutoring job interview. Prosecutors and police claimed that Chen Hsi-ching, who had a prior record of sexual offenses and had been living with Lu after being paroled on December 17 that year, lured the student to the apartment under false pretenses. Chen and Lu were accused of subduing, sexually assaulting, and strangling her to death using underwear.
In 1994, the Banqiao District Court initially sentenced both men to death. After multiple remands by the Supreme Court, the Taiwan High Court, during its sixth retrial, determined that Lu had tied a non-fatal knot around her neck while Chen tied the fatal one, leading to a 20-year sentence for Lu and a death sentence for Chen. Lu accepted the verdict without appeal, whereas Chen continued to fight the decision, ultimately receiving a death sentence by the Supreme Court in 2009.
Lu was paroled in 2012 and subsequently applied for a retrial. The Taiwan High Court approved a new trial in April this year, and on Thursday, finally declared him not guilty.