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Police in Chiayi detain carjack murder suspect

One of two men suspected of killing a man on a highway as they escaped arrest on Thursday night was taken into custody last night, hours after Tainan police had aired his photo on local TV channels.

Police arrested the suspect, Chen Jung-chi (陳榮吉), in Chiayi last night at approximately 9pm. He was then taken to Tainan County police station for questioning.

The two suspects, Chen and Shih Kuo-ching (石國慶), both from Kaohsiung, were named as suspects by Chang Jung-hsing (張榮興), a Tainan police officer in charge of the case at a press conference yesterday.

Shih was caught on camera at a convenience store in Chiayi City. Police were led to the store by a receipt they discovered in the car abandoned by the gunmen on an expressway.

The incident took place on Thursday night when two expressway police officers, Lin You-chung (林裕崇) and Lia Wen-ching (賴文卿), began to pursue a speeding black car which ignored their command to stop on the shoulder of the highway in Tainan County.

The chase ended in Liouchia (六甲), where the speeding car rammed into the median of an exit ramp, National Highway Police Bureau Chief Chen Tzu-jing (陳子敬) told reporters.

When the two police officers exited their car and approached the two men, one of the men grabbed an officer's gun and fired a shot, missing the officer.

Since the suspects' black car was unfit to drive, they attempted to hijack a passing car. The driver, Hsiao Min-hsiang (蕭名享), attempted to speed away only to be shot in the left shoulder through the window, causing his vehicle to swerve off the road and into a ditch running along the highway.

Hsiao was later was found dead in the driver's seat of his vehicle, Chen Tzu-jing said.

A woman surnamed Lee subsequently passed the intersection and was threatened by the pair with a pistol. She promptly surrendered her car to them. The hijackers kept the two police officers at bay by pointing the gun at them.

Chen Tzu-jing said the two suspects fled from the site in the woman's car, and police found the car abandoned in Yongkang (永康) Township, Tainan County, yesterday morning.

Police said the two officers were careless in carrying out their duties.

Additional reporting by CNA
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