A court in Taiwan has handed down a severe sentence to a 56-year-old man after a deadly attack that left four people dead and another seriously injured last year. The gunfight occurred at the headquarters of a biotechnology company in Nantou County, located at the heart of the island. Local media reported the incident today, providing details of the tragic event.
The defendant, Lee Hung-yuan, formerly employed by Kang Jian Biotech, entered the company premises with a firearm and opened fire on multiple workers on July 14 of the previous year. He seriously wounded the company president, Lai Min-nan, and killed Lai’s sister, Lai’s daughter, and two additional employees. Lee was captured the following day after being shot and subsequently fled on a motorcycle to Taichung, where he is said to have visited a massage parlor.
A Nantou District Court ruling found that the crimes were premeditated and that Lee was of sound mind when he carried them out, driven by a motive of revenge. Investigators also disclosed that Lee had acquired three pistols and 200 bullets in 2019, highlighting the planning behind the attack.
In addition to the death penalty, the court imposed a fine of NT$350,000 on Lee and permanently deprived him of civil rights. A separate case involving a friend who assisted in purchasing the firearms, Lai Yu-lung, resulted in a sentence of four years and two months in prison issued earlier this year. This ruling underscores the seriousness with which Taiwanese courts treat workplace violence and firearm crimes, especially when they involve targeted revenge and premeditation. The decision reflects a broader legal stance on deterrence and accountability in violent offenses.
Attribution: Nantou District Court