Prosecutors request death penalty for killer of two police officers

Prosecutors in Tainan City requested the death penalty for a man charged with stabbing to death two police officers last month, revealing chilling details of the suffering the officers endured in their last moments of life, and the suspected killer’s coldblooded disregard for his victims.

According to the results of the prosecutor’s investigation announced today, September 7, shortly before noon on August 22, police officers Tu Ming-cheng (凃明誠), 36, and Tsao Jui-chieh (曹瑞傑), 27, drove a police car to Taijiang Avenue in Annan District in pursuit of a suspect seen on a stolen motorcycle.

Tu alighted from the vehicle and walked on foot until he located the stolen motorcycle in long grass near near a tomb. Tu then used his phone to call Tsao to inform him that he had found the motorcycle. 

Lin Hsin-wu (林信吾), who was hiding behind the tomb, overheard the conversation between Tu and Tsao, and worried that he would be caught, Lin pulled out a switchblade knife, rushed out, and stabbed officer Tu. Tu fought back and attempted to spray Lin with pepper spray, but Lin stabbed Tu a total of 17 times until Tu finally collapsed.

As the police car driven by Officer Tsao approached on the narrow, winding lane with siren wailing, Lin took Tu’s service pistol, loaded with 12 bullets, and fired six shots at the police car until the gun jammed. The police car swerved off the road into the long grass.

Tsao, who was not armed with a service pistol, got out of the police car and stepped forward to check on his seriously wounded colleague. Lin attacked Tsao with the knife. Tsao also used pepper spray in an attempt to defend himself, but was stabbed a total of 38 times.

Lin searched for and found a second magazine for the the pistol he had stolen from Officer Tu before fleeing on the stolen motorcycle.

Much of the evidence presented to the court was based on the police bodycam and dashboard camera recordings of the terrible events of August 22. But the Chief Prosecutor had to stop several times to maintain his composure as he presented the evidence of a third police officer’s record.

When Officer Chen arrived on the scene, he first noticed the patrol car crashed on the side of the road with siren still wailing, and assuming Tu and Tsao had had a car accident, immediately called for support. But when Chen approached the car he saw Tu and Tsao covered in blood.

Tsao tried to sit up several times, telling Chen to help Tu first. Tu was attempting to get into the back of the police car to find a bottle of water. Tu fell back to the ground and cried out for water.

Tu and Tsao had lost consciousness by the time paramedics arrived, and both men were later declared dead at the hospital.

The District Prosecutor said that Lin has been charged with aggregate larceny, murder, robbery, and weapons offenses, and the prosecution requested the death penalty for Lin.

The prosecutor said that Tu and Tsao had suffered deep and enormous physical and mental torture before their deaths. The two victims were police officers who were conscientiously performing their duties, but they were subjected to brutality for no reason. Nobody who saw the remains of the two police officers, or the video recordings of the incident could deny that this case was indeed the most serious crime deserving of the most serious penalty.

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