Authorities divided over details of Huang's death

Police and prosecutors appear to be split on how to proceed with an investigation into the mysterious death of KTV owner Huang Chao-neng (黃兆能), who was found burned and shot to death last month at the house of Miaoli County Council Speaker Chen Tien-sung (陳添松).

Based on handwriting evidence and key witness testimony, police said they now believe Huang killed himself in Chen's house.

Prosecutors, however, point to forensic evidence to bolster their claim that Huang was murdered -- specifically, that it was a shotgun blast to the chest that killed him, something he could not have done by himself.

Chen has claimed that Huang broke into his house on the night of Nov. 24 and handed him a note demanding NT$30 million.

Police used handwriting analysis to determine that the alleged extortion note was in fact written by Huang.

Police had previously questioned the validity of the note as they did not find any of Huang's fingerprints on it, but now say that the lack of fingerprint evidence is explained by the fact Huang was wearing gloves when he handed the note to Chen.

Police say that burned pieces of white cloth found near the hands of Huang's corpse are the remains of the gloves he was wearing that night.

The Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday released the contents of Huang's alleged extortion note to the media. Portions of the note read: "I am here for money. No harm will come to you or your family if you cooperate ... If I fail, I will end my life ... You're not stupid: you spent NT$100 million to become speaker, your family must be worth NT$30 million ... I've got bullets and a gasoline bomb for myself, so you and your family won't have to clean up."

Police claim the note shows that Huang intended to kill himself if his kidnap attempt failed.

Kuo Tseng-li (郭增禮), a close associate of Huang's, told police Thursday that he and Huang had brought two guns and a can of gasoline to the house of the council speaker on Nov. 24, and planned to kidnap Chen's family for ransom.

Kuo was released on NT$50,000 bail yesterday and has been missing ever since.

Prosecutors continue to contend that Huang was murdered. A coroner from the Criminal Investigation Bureau ruled on Nov. 26 that Huang was killed by a gunshot to the chest and then was set on fire. The angle of the bullet wound that killed Huang and the absence of traces of smoke in Huang's lungs rules out suicide by self-immolation, claimed the coroner.

Miaoli District chief prosecutor Chen Wen-chi (陳文琪) Friday told reporters that prosecutors had doubts about Kuo's statement and planned to continue their investigation into Huang's murder. She will subpoena Chen, still a suspect in the case, to appear on Dec. 10 to give a clearer explanation of events.