A man surnamed Huang posted a message on Threads threatening to kill Lai Qingde’s family. The prosecutor prosecuted and the Changhua District Court found not guilty.
Quick Look
- A man surnamed Huang posted a message on the Threads platform from February to March threatening to kill Lai Qingde, his family and "Blue Bird".
- The prosecutor charged him with intimidating the public.
- However, the Changhua District Court believed that his post was only a message on his personal account without notifying the person being intimidated and there was no evidence to show that the person being intimidated was afraid.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The prosecutor charged a man surnamed Huang with posting a message on the Threads platform threatening to kill Lai Qingde, his family and "Blue Bird", and committing intimidation to the public and intimidation endangering safety in accordance with the criminal law. Most similar cases in the past have resulted in guilty verdicts. For example, a man surnamed Xu and another man surnamed Huang posted a post on Threads last March threatening to behead Lai Qingde, and were sentenced to two months in prison by the Taipei District Court and the Tainan District Court respectively. One of them was fined NT$2,000.
A man surnamed Huang posted on the social platform Threads and threatened, "I want to kill Lai Qingde's whole family", "Kill the blue bird", etc. The prosecutor prosecuted, but the Changhua District Court judge found him not guilty. (File photo)
From February to March this year, a man surnamed Huang posted on the social platform Threads, threatening to "kill Lai Qingde", "I want to kill Lai Qingde's whole family", "kill Jade Bird", etc. The prosecutor was charged according to the criminal law for intimidating the public and intimidation endangering safety. However, the Changhua District Court judge believed that Huang left the message on his own account and did not notify the target of the intimidation (President Lai, his family, Jade Bird, etc.), and there was no evidence to show that the intimidated person was afraid, so he was found not guilty.
Judge: The account left a message without notifying the person being intimidated.
The Changhua District Prosecutor's Office refused to accept the verdict, saying that many public officials and people often gather at the work place or place of the head of state. If Huang Man attacks the head of state, it may cause serious casualties. This message will also cause public panic. Huang Man has obviously committed a crime, and the prosecutor will appeal.
Please read on...
Changchun: The message caused public panic and will appeal
The verdict pointed out that Huang Man posted words such as "I want to revolt and kill Lai Qingde's family!" "I xx want to kill President Lai Qingde! Kill this...trash president", "Tell Lai Qingde to hide! The Taiwanese are going to kill him", "I will kill you and kill the bluebird!" and other words. The judge in charge of the Changhua District Court believed that one of the essential elements of the crime of intimidating the public and the crime of intimidation endangering safety is to notify the other party that harm will be done. Huang Man's post was directed at a specific individual, not the public, and the "blue bird" refers to a netizen, not a political group. The case was reported by netizens, and it was not reported by the president or the blue bird. It was impossible to prove that the president or the blue bird had seen anything, so he was acquitted accordingly.
Similar cases have mostly resulted in guilty verdicts in the past. For example, a man surnamed Xu and another man surnamed Huang both posted on Threads in March last year. Xu posted "Kill the blue bird and toad, behead Lai Qingde," and Huang wrote "Behead Lai Qingde," encouraging people to kill "DPP members." The Taipei District Court sentenced Xu to two months in prison; the Tainan District Court also sentenced Huang to two months in prison and a fine of 2,000 yuan.
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What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Taiwan's High Court will overturn the not guilty verdict of the Changhua District Court and convict the man surnamed Huang instead.
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- Why does the Changhua District Court believe that leaving messages on a personal account does not constitute notification of the person being intimidated?
- After the prosecutor appeals, how will the Taiwan High Court hear the case?
- Will this judgment affect future judicial standards for identifying threatening speech online?
