A New Taipei court has handed down two life sentences to a man who killed his wife and her sister in the street, a verdict the victims' family called too lenient after asking for the death penalty.

• A 46-year-old man rammed the two women with his car and attacked them with a kitchen knife and a metal bar in Tucheng last July, killing both.
• His wife had already won a protection order against him, and police had referred him for violating it the day before the killings — prosecutors released him without bail.
• He bought the weapons that same night, waited near her home the next morning, then fled and dumped the weapons before turning himself in, claiming mental illness.
• He admitted the killings in court but said he did not mean to kill; his lawyers pushed for life instead of death, and the citizen judge panel agreed.

Outlook: The verdict can be appealed, and the case is likely to renew pressure on how Taiwan enforces domestic violence protection orders.