Man Sentenced to 12 Years for Fatal Stabbing Over Drug Deal Dispute

A fatal group brawl occurred in Wanhua District, Taipei City, in 2020, resulting in the death of a man surnamed Lin. The Taiwan High Court, in a retrial, sentenced the main perpetrator, Zhu Baoyin, to 12 years in prison for murder. The Supreme Court recently dismissed the appeal, finalizing the sentence. The case originated on the early morning of October 5, 2020, when 30-year-old Lin and six friends met another group near Changshun Street to resolve a dispute. During the meeting, Lin was stabbed multiple times and died after being rushed to the hospital. Police arrested 22-year-old Zhu on Guangzhou Street the following morning and subsequently apprehended his accomplices. According to the verdict, Zhu had repeatedly expressed interest in purchasing marijuana from a man surnamed Su via a messaging app since September 2020 but failed to show up for the transactions. Lin, the supplier for Su, became dissatisfied, tracked down Zhu's identity, and demanded a meeting. Zhu arranged to meet Su and Lin at an abandoned road inside the water gate on Changshun Street on the early morning of October 5, having pre-arranged for nine accomplices to lie in ambush. When Lin, Su, and their group arrived, a fight broke out, during which Zhu used a spring-loaded knife to stab Lin in the chest, abdomen, waist, and back before fleeing. Lin died in the hospital. The Taiwan High Court's retrial considered that Zhu and Lin were strangers, yet Zhu, driven by frustration over the marijuana deal, failed to resolve the conflict rationally and instead provoked a fight that led to Lin's death, which warrants condemnation. Considering that Zhu initially denied intent to kill but later apologized to the victim's family and paid compensation, the court sentenced him to 12 years. The Supreme Court found no errors in the lower court's fact-finding or application of law and deemed the sentence appropriate, dismissing the appeal on the 21st.