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Coroner to examine councilor's body

Kaohsiung County councilors and police yesterday stand during a moment of silence in memory of slain Taipei County Councilor Wu Shan-jeou, who was murdered by a gunman on Wednesday. PHOTO: TSAI CHING-HUA, TAIPEI TIMES

An autopsy on the body of slain Taipei County Councilor Wu Shan-jeou (吳善九) is scheduled for today as investigators try to figure out why he was gunned down on Wednesday.

The People First Party councilor was shot to death in his office in Sindian (新店), Taipei County, around noon by a gunman who police suspect might have been employed by gangsters seeking to protect an extortion racket.

He was rushed to hospital immediately after the shooting but was pronounced dead at 1:08pm.

"The autopsy will be performed by senior coroner Fang Chung-min (方中民) at the Banciao Morgue at 8:30am tomorrow morning," said Chen Chin-teh (陳進德), a prosecutor from the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office. "We will retrieve the bullet that remains in the body, conduct ballistic analysis and hopefully discover more about the pistol used during the murder."

Chen said that it was a priority for prosecutors and police to prevent the murderer from fleeing the country.

They hope to identify the pistol that was used by the gunman and hopefully use that information to identify the murderer, he said.

Investigators are currently screening Wu's friends and reviewing recent bribery cases he had exposed, he added.

"It is quite possible that he was killed because he trod on people's toes by highlighting and targeting local government corruption," Chen said.

In addition to the autopsy on Wu's body, Chen said analysis, match-up and research would be carried out on the evidence which was collected from the scene and the police hoped to wrap up the process as soon as possible.

The prosecutor said the police had discovered that the bullets which the murderer used were highly specialized.

"Our researchers discovered that the bullets used were designed to create an open wound that wouldn't close. As a result, the victim would in all likelihood bleed to death. These bullets are rare," Chen said. "The closed-circuit camera footage shows that it took the murderer just 69 seconds to commit the crime. It looks like quite a professional job."

Police said the gunman was wearing a white shirt and black pants.

He wore a full-face motorcycle helmet so his face could not be seen. After the crime, the gunman fled on a scooter but his escape was captured by nearby security cameras.

National Police Agency Director-General Hou You-yi (侯友宜) yesterday said because the killing appeared to be an assassination, police were trying to find out whether the shooting was related to Wu's recent work that had brought to light collusion over illegal gravel and sand trading.

Asked whether the gunman was a hired assassin from overseas, Hou said efforts were still under way to identify the killer, and that in an attempt to block the man from sneaking out of the country, security at all airports and ports had been tightened.

Additional reporting by CNA
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