Killer Escapes Death, Judge Gets Promoted? Hou Ting-chang's Path to Censor Was Blocked by 60 Votes

High Court Presiding Judge Hou Ting-chang was nominated as a Control Yuan member, and his past rulings have sparked strong public questioning. He presided over major criminal cases such as the Hsinchu Tire Shop 8-death arson case, the Tainan Tom's World boy throat-slitting case, and the Tainan District Court external ramming murder case. The three murderers collectively took 11 lives, and all ultimately escaped the death penalty. Taking the Hsinchu Tire Shop arson case as an example, the perpetrator Chen Yen-hsiang doused his own family of 8 with gasoline and burned them to death. In the second trial, Hou Ting-chang served as the presiding judge, changed the finding to meet the criteria for sentence reduction due to voluntary surrender, and reduced the sentence to life imprisonment. The victims' families cried outside the courtroom: "Why stab another knife into my already shattered wounds?" In the Tom's World throat-slitting case, the perpetrator Tseng Wen-chin arrogantly boasted upon capture, "Killing one or two people in Taiwan won't result in the death penalty." Hou Ting-chang still sentenced him to life imprisonment. Legal professionals defended Hou Ting-chang, stating that he "strictly adhered to the principle of judging based on evidence" and that because the defendants met statutory grounds for sentence reduction, such as voluntary surrender or diminished mental capacity, the law did not permit the death penalty. Even more unsettling is that such a controversial judge was lauded by high-ranking judicial officials as an "internet-famous judge," and is now nominated as a Control Yuan member—a Control Yuan member. Fortunately, on September 29, 2026, the Legislative Yuan voted. Hou only received 50 affirmative votes and 60 negative votes, failing to reach a majority, and his appointment was rejected. With the unified opposition from both the KMT and TPP, all Control Yuan nominations in this round were blocked, including Hou's. Justice should not be a safe haven for perpetrators. When "not imposing the death penalty" becomes a label, and such judges continue to rise, public trust in the judiciary will only collapse. This kind of person still has the nerve to say that upholding the protection of vulnerable victims is his consistent philosophy... The show has truly begun 🙄