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`Highway killer' is armed and very dangerous: police

Police authorities said yesterday that Shih Kuo-ching (石國慶), one of two individuals suspected of killing a man on a highway on Thursday night, could be very dangerous and had two pistols in his possession.

Shih, 28, has a criminal record for robberies and spent most of his twenties in prison, Chang Jung-hsing (張榮興), a Tainan police officer in charge of the case, told reporters yesterday.

Shih was released from jail last June, Chang said.

The suspect already owned a pistol and stole another from a police officer during an altercation on Thursday, Chang said.

Police arrested the other suspect, Chen Jung-chi (陳榮吉), in Chiayi on Friday night.

The altercation began when two expressway police officers Tainan County, Lin You-chung (林裕崇) and Lia Wen-ching (賴文卿), started chasing a speeding vehicle after it failed to respond to their request to pull over.

The chase ended in Liouchia (六甲), where the black vehicle rammed into the median of an exit ramp.

When the officers approached the vehicle, one of its occupants grabbed an officer's gun and fired a shot, missing the officer.

As the suspects' vehicle was no longer in a condition to be driven, the suspects attempted to hijack a passing car.

The driver, Hsiao Min-hsiang (蕭名享), attempted to speed away but was shot in the left shoulder through the window, causing him to swerve off the road and into a ditch along the highway.

The National Police Bureau released a preliminary review of the incident yesterday, saying the two police officers had committed at least three mistakes during the Thursday night incident.

The officers chased the suspects for 15 minutes, but failed to report the matter to their colleagues or request assistance, the report said.

While the officers were aware that the suspects were driving a stolen car, they did not immediately arrest and handcuff them.

The two officers should have drawn their pistols while ascertaining the suspects' identities and should not have come so close to them, the report added.

Hsiao was later found dead in his vehicle.

A woman surnamed Lee later drove by the intersection and was threatened by the suspects with a pistol, whereupon she surrendered her vehicle.
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