Taiwanese Former Child Actor Wang Xinyi Sentenced To 17 Years In Prison For Attempted Homicide
From At The Dolphin Bay child actor and Golden Bell nominee to gang member and brawler.
Remember 2003 Taiwanese drama At The Dolphin Bay? The idol drama, which helped propel actors Wallace Huo, Angela Chang and Ambrose Hsu to fame, also featured a cast of adorable child actors, who portrayed the younger versions of the main actors.
And Ambrose’s on-screen mini-me, Wang Xinyi, was a mega hit with the viewers, with his cherubic features. The child actor went on to star in a couple of other dramas, including Green Forest My Home, as well as The Footprints Under The Sun, where he received a Golden Bell nomination for Best Supporting Actor. All that, when he was barely 13.
From promising young actor to gang member
However, it appears that the former child actor has taken quite a different route in life. On November 25, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for his part in the murder of an unnamed teenager surnamed Qu.
According to reports, Xinyi became part of the United Bamboo Gang, reportedly Taiwan’s largest triad gang, when he was in junior high school. The now-26-year-old was subsequently arrested in 2012 as part of a police raid.
Wang Xinyi in police custody
In 2016, in a fight that arose from a dispute between two youths surnamed Ye and Li, Xinyi and his companions, who were armed with metal rods and watermelon knives, left a victim severely injured and in a comatose state. The victim, an unnamed teenager surnamed Qu, eventually succumbed to his injuries, after being in a coma for six months.
Xinyi was also arrested seven hours after the fight and charged with attempted homicide.
In December last year, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the fight, with Xinyi appealing against the court’s decision. On November 25, Taiwan’s high court, after hearing his appeal and deliberating, sentenced him to 17 years in prison instead.
It’s not known if Xinyi intends to appeal again.
Photos: China Times, Sina Entertainment, Apple Daily
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