Compiled by C. ARUNO, FATIMAH ZAINAL and R. ARAVINTHAN
A 31-YEAR-old Taiwanese man was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Malaysian undergraduate, Sin Chew Daily reported.
The murder happened on Oct 13, 2022, just days after Chen Po-yen began dating the woman.
The pair had earlier met in April the same year and began dating in October.
On that fateful day, Chen had an argument over money with his girlfriend, identified only as Chai, 24, a Malaysian studying in Taiwan.
Regretting his decision of having spent TW$99,999 (RM14,800) on Chai, Chen strangled and killed Chai in a fit of rage.
Later, he tried to end his own life at home by downing pills. He was saved when he was found and rushed to a hospital.
Throughout the trial, Chen did not confess to the crime but maintained that both Chai and he had planned to die together.
The prosecution argued that Chai had gone about her daily chores on the day she died and her actions were not consistent with someone planning to commit suicide.
The Taiwan Shilin district court handed down its judgment on Tuesday.
> The demand for dragon dance performances is expected to increase by around 40% to mark the Year of the Dragon, according to troupes in the Klang Valley.
Based on Sin Chew Daily interviews with the troupes, the groups said they were booked full for the Chinese New Year celebrations which begins on Feb 7.
Many of them said this was the best year since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.
According to Zhang Long Cheng, a committee member of the Selangor Teck Ngai dragon and lion dance troupe, they had been receiving invitations to perform since early last month.
“As this will be the Year of the Dragon, dragon dances are extremely popular.
“Bookings for our dance troupe have gone up by about 40% compared to the previous years,” he said.
Zhang said their troupe was fully booked on the sixth day of Chinese New Year (an auspicious day to resume work), the Jade Emperor’s birthday, and Chap Goh Meh.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.
