Court Observation | The Su Case Is Not Over: Second Civil Preparatory Proceeding
Last edited: 2026-08-30
The case of Su Chien-Ho, Liu Ping-Lang, and Chuang Lin-Hsun is a well-known wrongful death-sentence case. In 1991, the three were accused of murdering a married couple surnamed Wu in Xizhi Township, Taipei County, despite the absence of direct evidence linking them to the killings. On February 4, 1995, their convictions became final, and each was sentenced to death on two counts together with lifelong deprivation of civil rights. On May 18, 2000, the Taiwan High Court ordered a retrial. The Supreme Court later remanded the retrial proceedings to the High Court three times. On August 31, 2012, in the third proceedings after remand, all three were finally acquitted. Roughly 21 years passed from the original accusations to the final acquittals.
Many people assume the case ended there. In fact, the victims' family had filed a civil damages action incidental to the criminal proceedings in 1992. After the criminal acquittals became final, the civil case continued. Both the first- and second-instance civil courts held that Su and the others were not liable for damages.
On August 26, 2020, the Supreme Court vacated the civil judgment and remanded the case to the Taiwan High Court. Thirty years after the original incident, Su Chien-Ho and the other defendants therefore still had to continue fighting to clear their names within the justice system. The ruling drew close attention from the Judicial Reform Foundation, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, Taiwan Association for Human Rights, Taiwan Association for Innocence, Covenants Watch, Amnesty International Taiwan, and other civil-society organizations.
On December 3, the Taiwan High Court will hold the second preparatory proceeding in the civil case following remand. The path to full exoneration has been long. We invite everyone to join us at the High Court's Civil Division and continue following the case.
Time
December 3, 2021, 10:45 a.m.
Location
Main entrance, Civil Division, Taiwan High Court (No. 233, Sec. 1, Guiyang St., Zhongzheng Dist., Taipei City)
Schedule
10:45-10:55 - Gathering
11:00-12:30 - Observe the hearing (actual timing may vary depending on the court's schedule)
12:30-12:45 - Post-hearing discussion
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.