Taiwan man jailed 12 years for breaking into ex-girlfriend's home & slashing her new partner while young child slept in same room

A man in Taiwan has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after breaking into his ex-girlfriend's home in the middle of the night and repeatedly stabbing her new partner with a knife.

All of this happened while a young child slept in the same room.

The Taichung District Court found the defendant, surnamed Zheng, guilty of attempted murder, according to 8world.

What happened

The incident took place in the early hours of Jul. 13, 2022, at a residential property in Taichung, according to Taiwanese outlet ETtoday.

Reports mentioned that Zheng had called the victim earlier that night, demanding he spoke to him.

Zheng then broke into the home in the early hours of the morning and entered the room where the victim and a young child were asleep.

The victim told the court he was woken by sharp pain, only to find Zheng attacking him repeatedly with a machete.

He tried to fend off the blows with his bare hands, but sustained multiple stab wounds to his chest and limbs.

At one point, he could not breathe due to the severity of a chest injury.

Zheng continued the attack until the victim called out for help and alerted the police, at which point Zheng fled.

The victim was hospitalised with an open wound approximately 16cm long on his right chest, along with fractures, severed tendons and ruptured nerves.

Zheng fled, evaded police for years

After the attack, Zheng evaded authorities for several years before being arrested following a warrant, according to 8world.

Defendant denied intent to kill

During the trial, Zheng denied intending to kill the victim.

He claimed he had lost control after being provoked verbally, and that he had grabbed the machete from a friend's car on impulse, insisting he had not meant to cause death.

Court rejected his defence

The judge rejected Zheng's account, making a finding that carrying a machete, breaking into a home in the early hours of the morning, and launching an attack on an unguarded victim, demonstrated clear intent to kill.

According to 8world, photographs of the injuries showed wounds on the victim's chest and limbs so deep that his bone was visible.

The judge also noted that a young child had been present in the room during the attack, putting the child's safety at risk as well.

Zheng was sentenced to 12 years in prison for attempted murder.

The case may still be appealed.