It is probably hard for people outside of Taiwan to understand why the arrest of fugitive Chang Hsi-ming (張錫銘) was so important that even President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) openly commended the police for a job well done. One needs to understand what the name "Evil Dragon," Chang's nickname, has come to stand for in Taiwan and the sense of relief felt by the public as a result of his arrest, against a backdrop of rising crime, to fully grasp why the arrest was such a big deal.
Chang had been on the run for the last 10 years, during which he committed a series of high-profile kidnappings, among other crimes. Currently, he holds the record in Taiwan for the highest accumulated amount of ransom demanded from his victims -- close to NT$4.4 billion. Of course, in most cases he was either not paid the full amount demanded, or when he was, the money did not end up in his hands. Still, the figure by itself is impressive.
Between January of last year and this March alone, Chang committed eight felony crimes -- four kidnappings, two gunfights with the police, and two shootings involving a private residence.
Much to the embarrassment of the police, in their two encounters with him in the past year, Chang and his gang managed to escape after extended gun battles. In one such encounter, the total shots exchanged numbered more than 1,000.
Under the circumstances, the fact that Chang and his gang continued to roam the streets around Taiwan was literally a living testament to the incompetence of the police and heaped embarrassment on the entire force. To make matters worse, during the past few months several other high-profile violent crimes have taken place, including deadly assaults against the police. These incidents -- coupled with the difficulty the police had in finding the perpetrator of the shooting of Chen and Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) -- eroded the public's confidence and trust in the police. Therefore, the arrest of Chang came at just the right time, giving a much needed morale boost to both the police and the public at large.
In particular, the way the police used advanced electronic technology to locate and then catch Chang was impressive. Chang had proven a cunning criminal, familiar with computer and Internet technology. Fearing police phone surveillance, he communicated with members of his gang through MSN instant messenger instead of the phone. However, the police managed to screen thousands of IP addresses suspected to belong to Chang and finally identified his precise location. Their efforts should be applauded.
The case also stands as a reminder that as criminals become increasingly technologically advanced, so must the police. It has become imperative that the government appropriate more funds to equip and train our police forces with the latest technology.
With the arrest of Chang, the list of the nation's 10 most-wanted fugitives has been reshuffled. For example, four killers on the run as a result of a gunfight in a Taichung tea parlor near the end of last year are still out there. In that gunfight, three people were killed and two were seriously injured. The four have gone on to commit at least one other crime -- a kidnapping. So, there will always be plenty of the likes of Chang out there, but in getting their man this time, the police have dealt the criminal element a blow.
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