A Changhua man caught with four modified handguns and 146 rounds at home tried to pin them on a friend who died of brain cancer, and the court did not buy it.

• Police searching the home found four working modified pistols, including a Glock 19 copy, and 146 bullets.
• He admitted having the weapons but said a friend had left them with him before dying of brain cancer.
• The judge said there was no other evidence, and a dead man should not be smeared with someone else's gun charge.
• He had used the same excuse in an earlier gun case, blaming a different man, and already had prior convictions.
• Sentence: six years and two months in prison plus a fine, with the guns and ammo seized.

Outlook: The ruling can still be appealed, and courts look set to keep rejecting the common "my dead friend left them here" defense in gun cases.