American kills himself on being given prison sentence in Changhua
It happened right outside the courtroom. How terrible! It sounds like he had scissors in his pocket. How can something like this happen?
Hmm. Four years is a pretty light sentence for 200+ marijuana plants in Taiwan, you’d think.
Still, poor sod must have really hated bad Chinese food.
Probably owed local mafia money. Condolences to his family.
sad, I can see why he would choose death over prison.
With good behavior he could have been out after two years. What about courtroom security, metal detectors, etc? Don’t they have that here?
There is more info here in Chinese, sounds like he had a Taiwanese wife and two young children. The sentence could have been appealed. Very sad!
Unless you have some knowledge of the case best not guess as to his motives.
Apologies. Just thinking there must be some stronger reason for him to take such a drastic action.
Because prison is hell. If youve been, youd see the reason.
Sad. Must have pressing need of money and just couldn’t handle it all. It’s quite something to plunge a scissor into one’s neck, if that is what happened.
One wishes he had the courage to get in , get out and get on with his life. Being alive can be a better help to his wife and kids, one would think. But then of course, we have no knowledge of his particular situ. Sad .
Imagine being a white dude in a Taiwanese prison. That sounds like a nightmare. All the racist hatred is likely to be taken out on you by the inmates and guards.
I dunno. The guys I know or vaguely know who’ve done time here say they weren’t treated too bad. Conditions aren’t great of course, but its not like the worst banged up abroad jails.
Yeah, what you said. 
That this could happen while he was in custody reflects poorly upon the law enforcement. Let’s at least hope there was no foul play.
This guy was a regular here on Forumosa. Sad to hear about this.
Yes, he was. Many of you met him over the years. I have no idea why he would do any of this. He had daughters and a wife. Sad, sad, sad.
really? I would think nationalist sentiment would run high in prison. In US prisons, they are highly organized into gangs, usually along race, ethnicity, and to some extent religion. I’ve heard you generally stick with your own group. Maybe Taiwan doesn’t have that organization due to lack of different groups.
I knew him. He had guts, wasn’t afraid of much. It wasn’t fear that made him do this. Depression, more likely.
Extremely sad situ, especially for his wife and daughters. I wonder if it was a sudden impulsive move on his part? Or if he carried scissors intending to kill himself right at court upon sentencing. Too bad he didn’t write about what was happening here on forumosa and maybe could get some support that way. Some of his friends/supporters could have accompanied him in court, etc.
Is it the same as US courts where you are sentenced but not taken into custody immediately, given a date to serve your time? Or do they take you away immediately and that was the time he did himself in?
Imagine not engaging in the manufacture and distribution of drugs in a foreign country, you will most likely never have to experience prison. Get a legal job like anyone else and you should be fine. The money may be less but you can sleep better. 
It’s sad that a life ends this way, especially for the family left behind. Yet the only person to blame is the guy who killed himself - not the police, not the court and not the Taiwanese prison system. Nobody forced the guy to manufacture drugs.
he didn’t manufacture drugs. he just grew marijuana, albeit on a reasonably large scale.