Clues Traversing Time and Space: Returning to September 1, 1995—Press Conference on the Simulated Inspection Tour of the Hslu Tzu-chiang Case

Hsu Tzu-chiang was accused twenty years ago of involvement in a kidnapping and murder case. The most critical problem in this case is that previous judgments repeatedly sentenced Hsu Tzu-chiang to death seven times and to life imprisonment twice based solely on the contradictory statements of co-defendants Huang Ch'un-ch'i and Ch'en I-lung.

To examine the correctness of previous judgments and verify the truthfulness of the co-defendants' statements, the Taiwan Association for Human Rights / Judicial Reform Foundation will hold a simulated inspection tour on Tuesday, July 28. The tour will physically visit locations such as the kidnapping, the murder and burial site, the ransom collection spot, and the site related to Hsu Tzu-chiang's alibi. Based on the facts stated in the written judgments and the co-defendants' statements, the tour will simulate the course of events and calculate travel times. The important itineraries of the simulated inspection tour are as follows:

1. Simulating the Movement Route of Huang Ch'un-ch'i and Others in the Kidnapping and Murder Burial
   Based on the co-defendants' statements, previous written judgments concluded that the victim was abducted on September 1, 1995, at around 08:40 near Chih-fu Temple close to his home in Tuchih, and was immediately taken to a ravine near No. 40-1, Menghu Road, Hsichih, where he was murdered and buried. The simulated inspection will depart from Chih-fu Temple at 08:40 on July 28, follow the route used that year to the burial site, calculate the travel time, and examine the truthfulness of the co-defendants' statements.
2. Simulating the Movement Route of Hsu Tzu-chiang Wiping Fingerprints and Returning to Taoyuan as Determined by the Written Judgment
   Previous written judgments concluded that after the kidnapping at 08:40 on September 1, 1995, Hsu Tzu-chiang first got out of the car at a nearby gas station, returned to Chih-fu Temple to wipe off fingerprints left on the victim's car, and then took transportation back to Taoyuan. The simulated inspection will calculate the time required to travel from the gas station back to Chih-fu Temple, and from Chih-fu Temple back to Taoyuan using various means of transportation, in order to examine the correctness of the written judgment and the truthfulness of the co-defendants' confessions.
3. Simulating the Movement Route of the Second Ransom Collection as Determined by the Written Judgment
   Previous written judgments concluded that during the second ransom collection on September 25, 1995, Hsu Tzu-chiang was at Taoyuan Railway Station, Ch'en I-lung was at the level crossing beside Neili Railway Station, and Huang Ch'un-ch'i made a phone call from a public payphone at No. 1, Wenhua Road, Chungli City, with the three conspiring to commit the ransom crime. The simulated inspection will follow the findings of the written judgment to simulate the ransom collection route, thereby examining the correctness of the written judgment and the truthfulness of the co-defendants' confessions.

The JRF hopes that through this simulated inspection activity, the contradictory and untruthful aspects of the co-defendants' statements will be pointed out, highlighting how previous judgments neglected evidence investigation and led to a wrongful conviction. We look forward to the panel of judges in the ninth retrial clearing Hsu Tzu-chiang's name and ending the suffering of the wrongfully accused!

Press Contact

Hsiao I-min, Executive Secretary of the Judicial Reform Foundation 02-25231178