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Updated Tuesday, November 10, 2009 9:39 am TWN, The China Post news staff

Assisted suicide facts

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Penal Code Article 275, paragraph one governing assisted suicide states that abetting or helping another person to commit suicide, or killing someone at the person's insistence, can be sentenced to between one and seven years.

Law experts pointed out that people mistakenly believe that with the suicidal person's consent, exterminating his/her life is not against the law, adding that such act is against the basis of criminal law respecting every individual life, and thus considered as murder.

Last October, a Taoyuan woman surnamed Hua, requested her brother and ex-husband to hire a professional hit-man to kill her for life insurance payments, to help their family get over their dire financial situation. Judges sentenced Hua's brother and the ex-husband seven years in prison for assisted suicide.

Another recent case involved a double suicide. In April of 2008, a man, surnamed Ke and his then girlfriend agreed to jump off a building together. However, the girl died while Ke was only slightly injured. Taichung District Court sentenced to Ke four years and six months in accordance with laws governing assisted suicide.

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