A mentally unstable man armed with a knife killed the female manager of the Mucha apartment complex where he lived and wounded another man before killing himself, police said yesterday.
Liu Lung (劉蓉), 58, jumped to his death from the eighth floor of one of the complex's buildings shortly after killing 46-year-old Chiu Hsiu-fang (邱秀芳) and seriously wounding one of her co-workers, Liu Cheng-hung (劉政宏), aged 42.
Police say Liu Lung was a manic-depressive and had suffered from the bipolar disorder for many years. They say his mental illness seemed to have worsened in recent months.
Liu Lung had reportedly had several disputes with the managers of the Mucha complex, mainly Chiu, about his frequent requests to move to another apartment because of what he claimed was "harassment" by his neighbors.
He had rented a twelfth-floor apartment in the complex, one of the most luxurious and expensive housing developments in the Mucha area, early this year. But not long after he moved in, he complained to the complex's managers of "harassment" from his neighbors and asked to be allowed to move into an apartment on the eighth floor of the same building. His request was granted only after persistent arguments with the managers.
Liu Lung reportedly continued to complain about his living situation after moving to the eighth-floor unit.
Police say he rushed into the management office on the first floor of his building about 9:30am yesterday, armed with a small knife.
There were three people in the office, including Chiu, her colleague Liu and a cleaning woman. Police say the three had little time to react before they found themselves under attack.
Chiu suffered a fatal wound to the heart and died in the office, while Liu Cheng-hung was seriously injured as he tried to fight off Liu Lung. The cleaning woman, who was not identified, was not injured.
Police say Liu Lung then returned to his apartment and shortly thereafter leapt to his death.
The murder-suicide has attracted widespread media attention because the apartment complex is home to many prominent people, including former National Police Administration director-general Ting Yuan-chin (
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all