Jiang Jiakai, a well-known paper sculptor who once made a “paper sheep head” for the album cover of artist Aaron Yan, was dissatisfied with the supermarket clerk Cai’s reminder to wear a mask during the 2021 epidemic. He stabbed Cai 13 times with a machete, three of which penetrated into the heart and killed him. Jiang Jiakai was sentenced to death for murder in the first instance, but the High Court believed that he had mixed 6 drugs including FM2 before the crime, and his ability to identify illegal behavior was reduced when committing the crime, which met the provisions for commutation of sentence. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. After appeal, the Supreme Court overturned the sentence and sent it back for retrial. The case returned to the High Court for trial again, and the first instance upheld the life imprisonment sentence; the case was appealed again, and the Supreme Court rejected the appeal today (27), and Jiang’s life imprisonment was finalized.
Paper sculptor Jiang Jiakai killed a supermarket clerk and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Data photo
Paper sculptor Jiang Jiakai killed a supermarket clerk and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Data photo
The whole case originated from the early morning of November 21, 2021. Jiang Jiakai went to a convenience store in Guishan District, Taoyuan City to buy snacks after taking a variety of sedatives, sleep aids and anti-anxiety drugs such as Xanax, Jing Anning, Lifuquan, and FM2. Because it was during the epidemic, Jiang did not wear a mask. He was persuaded by the clerk Cai to wear a mask and refused to check out. Jiang then went home angrily to get a mask, and returned to the convenience store to check out again. Before leaving, he took off his mask and threw it at Cai’s face angrily.
After returning home, Jiang was still angry and had the intention to kill. He brought a machete, a folding knife, and a screwdriver to the convenience store to lure Cai outside the store, and then stabbed Cai in the chest, face, and hands with the machete. Cai could only defend himself with his bare hands. When Jiang accidentally fell, he struggled to grab the machete and tried to escape back to the store. Unexpectedly, Jiang chased him and continued to stab. He only stopped when he saw Cai unable to resist and fell to the ground. He was arrested by the police for staying there. Cai was stabbed 13 times, 3 of which stabbed his heart. He was in shock due to heavy bleeding before being sent to the hospital for treatment, but he still died after emergency treatment.
The case was tried by the Taoyuan District Court in 2022. The first instance sentenced Jiang Jiakai to death for murder and deprived him of his civil rights for life. The court appealed ex officio, but the High Court held that the first instance did not consider whether Jiang’s control was affected by the abuse of multiple drugs, so it asked the hospital to conduct an appraisal. The result showed that among the multiple drugs Jiang took, the interaction between benzodiazepines and medemy (commonly known as FM2) would cause the user to have violent behavior and antisocial personality.
The High Court considered that Jiang was determined to resolve his anger towards the clerk with violence at the time of the incident due to the effects of drugs, and his ability to identify and control behavior was significantly reduced, which met the requirements for commutation of sentence, and he did not know that these drugs would cause him to explode; in addition, considering that Jiang had been detained for more than two years after committing the crime, he did not abuse drugs or have antisocial personality in the prison, which shows that he can control his medication by himself and there is no risk of recidivism or endangering public safety. Based on the above reasons, the High Court changed Jiang’s sentence to life imprisonment in December 2023.
The prosecutor appealed to the third instance after being dissatisfied with the verdict. The Supreme Court overturned Jiang Jiakai’s death sentence after hearing the case last year and sent it back to the High Court for retrial. The High Court held in the first instance that although Jiang Jiakai mixed multiple drugs before committing the crime, which may have caused Jiang’s memory to be abnormal and blackout, it does not mean that his attention and consciousness at the time of the behavior were abnormal. In addition, Jiang had no mental disorders or other mental defects, which did not meet the provisions for commutation of sentence. However, considering that Jiang knelt at the scene after committing the crime, he confessed to murder when facing the police’s questioning, and truthfully explained the location of the murder weapon and the process of the crime, which met the requirements of confession, he should be commuted.
The High Court’s first instance finally upheld Jiang Jiakai’s life imprisonment and deprived him of his civil rights for life. The case was appealed again, and the Supreme Court rejected the appeal today, and Jiang’s life imprisonment was finalized.
