An armed man yesterday robbed a Hsinchu City branch of Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行), shooting and killing a bank clerk before allegedly hanging himself.
Hsinchu police identified the suspect as 39-year-old Pan Chien-yuan (潘健源), who had prior criminal convictions for illegal drugs, robbery, blackmail and illegal possession of firearms.
Footage from a surveillance camera showed Pan holding up a handgun as he dashed into the front entrance of the bank’s branch on Dongmen Street in downtown Hsinchu at 1:55pm.
Photo: Wang Chun-chieh, Taipei Times
Witnesses said a man fired twice as he entered the bank, shouted out a common Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) expletive, jumped over a counter and fired at 50-year-old bank clerk Lai Wei-ta (賴偉達).
The suspect left the bank with about NT$733,000 in cash and shot twice at traffic police outside before running to a nearby 25-story residential building, where a standoff ensued, police said.
Local residents said the situation was tense, with the standoff lasting for more than an hour, during which several gunshots were heard.
Screen grab from Liberty Times Net
Among the about 120 police surrounding the area were SWAT teams, which carefully worked their way into the building to flush out the suspect, police said.
In the late afternoon, police said they found Pan, who allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself with cables from a waxing machine in a second-floor stairwell.
He was found half-kneeling with banknotes littering the floor around him and the handgun sticking out from a pants pocket, police said.
Photo: CNA
Evidence at the scene suggested that Pan tried to get out of the building, but could not open any of the windows or emergency exits from inside, and committed suicide after being cornered, police said, adding that he likely did not want to face criminal prosecution and another prison term.
Pan, a native of Changhua County, had served prison terms for multiple criminal convictions, police said.
After his last conviction, he was released on parole in October 2015, with that term ending in April, they added.
Lai was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead by doctors, who said that the bullet hit him in the chest and punctured a lung.
Police said the suspect fired five shots inside the bank during the robbery, two on the street and eight inside the building while being pursued by police.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned