Court Observation Recruitment | The Qiu Songcheng Case: A Knife-Wielding Murder Case Without a Knife | Investigation Hearing on the Fourth Remanded Motion for Retrial
Last edited: 2026-08-24
It has been 10 years since the court concluded in 2015 that Qiu Songcheng had wielded a "pre-concealed fruit knife" and "forcefully stabbed Mr. Cheng in the back as he was fleeing with his back turned to Qiu Songcheng, penetrating deep into the lung within the chest cavity," causing Mr. Cheng's death, and sentenced Qiu Songcheng to life imprisonment and deprivation of civil rights for life.
The Judicial Reform Foundation (JRF) commissioned experts to review surveillance footage from the scene and reconstruct the events, and also conducted a separate analysis of the bloodstain evidence in the case, raising numerous significant doubts. Nevertheless, Qiu Songcheng's motions for a retrial have repeatedly been dismissed by the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court (hereinafter the Kaohsiung Branch Court).
Fortunately, on September 1, 2025, the Supreme Court for the fourth time vacated the Kaohsiung Branch Court's ruling dismissing Qiu Songcheng's motion for a retrial. In Supreme Court Criminal Ruling No. 422 of 2025, the Supreme Court identified deficiencies in the Kaohsiung Branch Court's fact-finding and investigation, noting that it had not only failed to adequately investigate key evidence and consider the expert opinions, but had also failed to explain in detail why it declined to accept those opinions.
At the previous hearing in the fifth round of retrial proceedings in the Qiu Songcheng case, expert witness Professor James Lee was summoned to testify and examined in court. At the upcoming hearing, the court will summon the second expert witness who also assisted in preparing the expert report, Police Officer Lan Jinlong, to testify. We hope that a thorough investigation will enable the case to proceed to a retrial.
At 2:00 PM on January 21, the retrial investigation hearing in the Qiu Songcheng case will take place in Criminal Courtroom No. 4 of the Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court. We invite everyone concerned about this case to join us in court and follow its subsequent developments.
＊After the court observation concludes, defense counsel in this case will also discuss the key issues and controversies surrounding the case with participants outside the courtroom. Everyone is welcome to participate.
Court Observation Time
Time
Wednesday, January 21, 2026, at 2:00 PM
Location
Criminal Courtroom No. 4, Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch Court (No. 586, Mingcheng 3rd Rd., Gushan Dist., Kaohsiung City)
References
Contact Person
Legal Specialist Zhang Jiaqi
04-2329-2372 #14
This article is an AI-generated translation of the original Chinese text. In the event of any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.