FILIPINO WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING TAIWANESE WOMAN FOR CASH

a Taiwanese court sentenced a Filipino woman to death for killing a Taiwan woman for money. The Kaohsiung District Court in southern Taiwan passed the sentence on Armia Menecia Panaglima, 39, in the killing of Chiu Mei-yun, 48, in Kaohsiung on September 12, 2007, the Broadcasting Corporation of China (BCC) reported. Armia had worked at a Kaohsiung bar but was in need of money after she was fired, so she invited Chiu, a broker for foreign teachers, to Armia's rented apartment, the report said. Armia sought to borrow money from Chiu, who refused, resulting in a heated row. Armia was then accused of tying a nylon rope around Chiu's neck and stabbing her with a knife. The court was told Armia searched Chiu's handbag for cash and forced Chiu to reveal the code for withdrawing money with her ATM card. After Chiu told Amria her ATM code, Armia stabbed Chiu in the heart, killing her, the court heard. Armia put Chiu's body in a garbage bag, dumped it in an alley the same night and then withdrew 66,500 Taiwan dollars ($US2,000) from Chiu's bank account, according to testimony.