High Court Upholds 10-Year Sentence for Fatal DUI Hit-and-Run
A man sentenced to 10 years for killing a college student while driving drunk and fleeing the scene had his sentence upheld by the Taichung High Court, which rejected both defense and prosecution appeals.
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- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 12:42
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 13:01 (19 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 13:08 (6 min after Collected)
Taichung, April 28 (CNA) – A man surnamed Wu, who ran a red light while driving drunk last March and killed a motorcycle-riding college student surnamed Chen before fleeing, saw his 10-year sentence upheld today by the Taichung High Court. The original verdict was issued by the Taichung District Court's lay judge tribunal.
The lay judge tribunal of the Taichung District Court had sentenced Wu last December to 9 years for DUI resulting in death and 5 years for a hit-and-run resulting in death, with a combined execution period of 10 years.
In the early hours of March last year, Wu, who was unlicensed and intoxicated, ran a red light and struck Chen, a 21-year-old student who was working as a delivery driver at the time. Wu fled the scene without stopping to provide aid. Both the prosecution and the defendant appealed. Chen's father requested that the judge include the 'offense against public traffic' in the sentencing considerations.
The Taichung High Court announced its verdict this morning, stating that as the prosecutor did not indict him for the offense against public traffic, there was no supporting data, and this portion was not accepted. The original verdict was deemed proportionate given the circumstances, and the appeals were dismissed, maintaining the original sentence. Further appeals are possible.
The tribunal mentioned that the public views DUI resulting in death as an act that indiscriminately takes lives and is deeply detested. It suggested that correctional institutions should have experts fully assess the risk of re-offending before granting parole in similar cases to prevent such tragedies from recurring.
The lay judge tribunal of the Taichung District Court had sentenced Wu last December to 9 years for DUI resulting in death and 5 years for a hit-and-run resulting in death, with a combined execution period of 10 years.
In the early hours of March last year, Wu, who was unlicensed and intoxicated, ran a red light and struck Chen, a 21-year-old student who was working as a delivery driver at the time. Wu fled the scene without stopping to provide aid. Both the prosecution and the defendant appealed. Chen's father requested that the judge include the 'offense against public traffic' in the sentencing considerations.
The Taichung High Court announced its verdict this morning, stating that as the prosecutor did not indict him for the offense against public traffic, there was no supporting data, and this portion was not accepted. The original verdict was deemed proportionate given the circumstances, and the appeals were dismissed, maintaining the original sentence. Further appeals are possible.
The tribunal mentioned that the public views DUI resulting in death as an act that indiscriminately takes lives and is deeply detested. It suggested that correctional institutions should have experts fully assess the risk of re-offending before granting parole in similar cases to prevent such tragedies from recurring.