TAIWAN: MOJ TO REVIEW CASES OF 25 INMATES FACING EXECUTION

the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in Taiwan will carefully review cases involving 25 death row prisoners before deciding whether to execute them, a ministry official said. Chiang Hui-ming, director of the MOJ's Department of Prosecutorial Affairs, made the remarks a day after the Supreme Court approved the death sentence for Chen Chin-huo and Kwang Teh-chiang, who were convicted of raping and murdering insurance saleswoman Shih Chin-chi in Taichung County in 2003. According to Chiang, the Supreme Court has endorsed the death sentences of five prisoners so far this year. Despite the growing number of prisoners on death-row, Chiang said the government is moving toward the removal of the death penalty, adding that it will block the execution of anyone on death row until a common consensus is reached.