On 22/7, Yang Chin-ping, around 40, was sentenced by the Taipei District Court to 11 years and two months in prison for the attempted murder of Alex Shorey, her former Australian boyfriend.
The two met when Alex was studying for a one-year program at Tamkang University in Taipei.
According to court records, Yang first put rat poison into Alex's grape juice in 2023 after learning her 23-year-old boyfriend planned to return to Australia alone and end their relationship. Alex was hospitalized with symptoms including abdominal pain, diarrhea, nosebleeds, and blood in his urine.
Yang poisoned Alex a second time while he was hospitalized. At that time, Alex's father, Stephen, arrived in Taiwan intending to take his son home for treatment. Prosecutors accused Yang of tricking Stephen into signing a form refusing admission to the intensive care unit, and also insisting on acting as the family's interpreter at the hospital instead of allowing medical staff to speak directly with them in English.
However, Stephen insisted his son remain in the intensive care unit until he could be repatriated to Australia.
Yang poisoned Alex a third time by mixing rat poison into his medication. At the time, Alex was in critical condition.
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Alex Shorey before and after being poisoned by his former girlfriend. *Nypost* |
Prosecutors stated Alex's mother discovered an empty bottle of rat poison while checking her son's belongings, raising suspicions.
Yang was arrested and charged with attempted murder in 12/2024.
According to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, while Alex fortunately did not die, he could have suffered massive hemorrhages in multiple body parts and died at any moment. "The defendant's conduct, methods, and attitude after committing the crime were exceptionally malicious, with no mitigating circumstances to consider leniency," the office announced after the incident.
A GoFundMe campaign raised over 200,000 USD to bring Alex back to Australia in 2023 after the case garnered widespread public attention.
Alex and his parents returned to Taiwan to testify at Yang's trial in 3.
In court, Yang denied the charges, claiming the rat poison was for herself because she was grieving the death of her late husband.
The court determined Yang intended to keep Alex in Taiwan, continuing to poison him despite witnessing his pain. Before sentencing, the court noted the crime was carefully planned and Yang showed no remorse.
Tue Anh (*Nypost*)
