A Taichung man got 12 years and 6 months for robbing a wealthy businessman of millions and then trying to kill him to cover it up — a heavy sentence in a case the victim barely survived.

• Two men broke into the home of a businessman surnamed Liao in Taichung's Xitun district in June 2024, tied him up at knifepoint and cleaned out cash and valuables.
• They took foreign currency worth several million Taiwan dollars, along with luxury bags, a coat and a gold Rolex, then forced him to hand over his bank card and drained more than NT$2.5 million from ATMs.
• Fearing they would be caught, they drugged the victim and lit charcoal to fake a carbon monoxide death; he woke up, opened a window and called police.
• The Taichung District Court convicted the 29-year-old of attempted murder and aggravated robbery; his accomplice fled and is still wanted.
• The defendant pleaded guilty and argued he only received a small share of the money, but the court still stacked the two sentences.

Outlook: The verdict can be appealed, and the second suspect remains at large.