TAIWAN COURT GIVES FILIPINA TIME TO APPEAL DEATH SENTENCE

Taiwan’s Court of Appeals granted overseas Filipino worker Cecilia Armia Alcaraz, a.k.a. Nemencia Panaglima, sufficient time to appeal her death sentence, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. The DFA quoted reports from Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) managing director Antonio Basilio saying that Alcaraz’s appeal was heard in Taiwan’s southern city of Kaoshiung. "The appellate judge gave Alcaraz and her lawyer time to go over the lower court judgment and to file the appeal brief," DFA spokesperson Claro Cristobal said in a text message. Cristobal said no date yet has been set for the next hearing.
On September 30, 2007, the Kaoshiung district court sentenced Alcaraz to death for robbing and murdering Chiu Mei-yun, a broker for English teachers in Taiwan.