TAIWAN: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH IN NEW TAIPEI FIRE

March 3, 2017: The New Taipei City District Court handed the death sentence to a man accused of committing arson last year, killing six people in an old apartment building.
Tang Ching-hua, 50, was found guilty of manslaughter and deprived of his civil rights for life.
According to the ruling, Tang got involved in an altercation with Weng Hsiang-chih and another man in 2013. He filed assault charges against Weng, but lost.
In an apparent attempt to get back at Weng, Tang in March last year set fire to an apartment building belonging to Weng’s family in the city’s Sanchong District, the ruling said.
Tang used gasoline and flammable materials to start the blaze in a densely populated residential area, with complete disregard for human lives and property, the ruling said.
The fire spread quickly and consumed the old building, killing six members of Weng’s family.
During the investigation, Tang was quoted as saying: “I had no idea the blaze would become so intense and cause so many people’s death. What I did was wrong.”
The ruling was the first on the case and can be appealed. (Sources: Taipei Times, 04/03/2017)