Metro killer gets fined $29,810,000 NTD for expressing no remorse

Last year, a student, Cheng Jieh, went on a killing spree in the Taipei Metro station injuring twenty four people and taking away four lives.

Soon after, relatives of one of the deceased (Pan Bi Chu), and seven individuals that were previously wounded stepped out and filed a lawsuit against the "Metro Killer." Yesterday the court's verdict came out and the defendant was ordered to pay a total amount of $29,810,000 NTD to the ten plaintiffs--due to the fact that the killer had not shown remorse toward the families of the wounded and the deceased.

The relatives of Pan stated that they knew that Cheng did not have money, but they wanted to make a point to society that there is such a thing as karma--"what comes around, goes around; and that you will repay the debt that you owe, even if it takes a million lifetimes for you to do so."

Even though the ten plaintiffs have won the case, it is a huge possibility that none of them will get any sort of compensation as Cheng does not have any property. However, the reason for this lawsuit was because one had lost a wife of thirty years to Cheng. And another lady, Xiao, had to leave work for a year to recuperate from the stab wounds. Moreover, because of this incident, Xiao is affected with agoraphobia and is afraid to go out alone. Lin, who was also another stabbing victim, is afraid to take the metro. When he is on the train, he becomes anxious and is highly alert of his surroundings at all times.

The attorney that represents the killer states that the compensatory damages the victims had requested was too much (a total of $31,640,000 NTD for medical, psychological, and unemployment compensation). The lawyer had reminded the judge that Cheng was also psychologically impaired, which would be a valid reason for the judge to consider reducing the amount of compentation.

However, in the judge's eyes, Cheng only expressed remorse toward his parents during interviews with the prison counselors. When he found out about his parents kneeling in front of the public, he said, "I feel guilty toward my parents." But till this day, he hasn't expressed sorrow toward the families of the ones he had hurt. Therefore, there is no reason to reduce the compensatory damages at all. Plus the defendant has to pay for the traffic and medical certificate for all plaintiffs, which adds up to $29,810,000 NTD.

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