Taipei: Taiwan’s Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a life sentence handed to Yang Hung-ju, a man found guilty of murdering two friends and disposing of their bodies in Hualien County in 2015. The court’s decision concludes a series of legal proceedings that have spanned several years.

According to Focus Taiwan, the motive behind the murders stemmed from Yang’s jealousy and a gambling dispute. The Taichung District Court’s first-instance ruling detailed how Yang, driven by jealousy over his friend’s girlfriend, murdered his first victim, Chen. On June 27, 2025, Yang lured Chen on a trip to Nantou County, drugged him, and stuffed him into a metal barrel, leading to his death by suffocation.

In a separate incident, Yang killed his second victim, Lai, whom he met through mahjong gambling. After a dispute over alleged cheating, Yang invited Lai on a trip, drugged him, and similarly disposed of him in a metal barrel. Lai’s body was found near Chen’s in Hualien County, also dead by suffocation.

The Taichung District Court and the Taichung branch of the High Court initially sentenced Yang to death, citing his lack of remorse and the potential risk of reoffending. However, after Yang’s appeal, the Supreme Court overturned the death sentence, remanding the case for retrial in 2023.

In the second retrial, the High Court noted the prolonged legal proceedings and Yang’s advanced age as factors warranting a sentence reduction, leading to a commutation of the death penalty to life imprisonment. The court upheld the lifelong deprivation of Yang’s civil rights.

Following an appeal by prosecutors, the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the life sentence was finalized on Wednesday, marking the end of legal recourse in this case.