Court Observation | The Unfinished Su Case: The Fifth Civil Preparatory Proceeding
Last edited: 2026-07-27
The case of Su Chien-ho, Liu Bing-lang, and Chuang Lin-xun is a renowned wrongful death penalty case. In 1991, without any direct evidence proving the three men's involvement in the murder of the Wu couple in Hsichih Township, Taipei County, Su Chien-ho, Liu Bing-lang, and Chuang Lin-xun were convicted by a final judgment of the Supreme Court on February 4, 1995. Each was sentenced to two death penalties and lifelong deprivation of civil rights. On May 18, 2000, the Taiwan High Court ruled to initiate a retrial, which went through the Supreme Court remanding the retrial case back to the High Court for retrial three times. On August 31, 2012, in the third retrial after retrial, the three were finally acquitted. The duration from being accused of the crime to the final acquittal spanned approximately 21 years.
The public mostly assumes that this case has come to an end. However, in reality, the criminal incidental civil damage compensation lawsuit filed by the victims' family members in 1992 continued to be tried by the civil court after the criminal case was finalized. Both the first and second instances ruled that no damage compensation liability should be borne. On August 26, 2020, the Supreme Court vacated the judgment and remanded the case back to the Taiwan High Court, which means that 30 years have passed since the incident occurred, yet Su Chien-ho and the others must still continue to fight for their innocence within the judicial system.
On April 15 of this year (2022), regarding issues with Dr. Henry Lee's (Li Ch'ang-yü) appraisal report from back then, the court summoned Professor Li Chun-yi (Professor at the Graduate Institute of Forensic Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine), whom the defense applied for as a reviewing expert, to appear in court. The judge asked Professor Li Chun-yi numerous questions concerning his professional background, why he concluded that Dr. Henry Lee's appraisal report was credible, and why the scientific forensic methods used in the appraisal report of the Institute of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice (using knife mark angles to trace back the type of murder weapon) were unacceptable.
On November 7, the Taiwan High Court Civil Division will hold the fifth preparatory proceeding for this case after it was remanded. The road to vindication remains long, and we invite everyone to join us in the courtroom to follow this case together.
時間
2022年11月7日(一)下午4點
地點
台灣高等法院民事庭第一法庭（台北市中正區貴陽街一段233號）
延伸閱讀
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.