Police official says bullet case suspect identified

The director-general of the National Police Agency, Hou You-yi (侯友宜), yesterday expressed confidence in the ability of the police to solve a case involving threats targeting lawmakers.

Hou said police have identified a suspect who will be arrested soon.

Hou made the remarks in response to reporters' questions after Legislator Huang Chao-shun (黃昭順) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) received a threatening letter containing a bullet on Thursday.

Earlier yesterday, Legislator Lee Chen-nan (李鎮楠) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) received a similar "bullet letter," mailed by the self-named "Heiho Association," which invited Lee to join the underworld as a branch chief of the group.

Lee said the bullet was from a rifle, the kind of weapon that could penetrate a normal bullet-proof vest. If the letter was not a joke, he said, it was a very serious matter.

Besides Huang and Lee, four other lawmakers have received similar letters, including Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) and Lin Shu-fen (林淑芬) of the DPP, independent Legislator Li Ao (李敖) and the KMT's Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱).

Lee pointed out that in addition to himself, six other lawmakers received similar letters at the same time yesterday. Saying that the sender of the threatening mail was too bold to respect the law. Lee urged police to solve the case as soon as possible.

According to the police, the threatening letters have been sent by a single individual -- likely a political fanatic dissatisfied with the country's current political situation -- because the Chinese characters on the letters appear to have come from the same printer.

The threatening letters triggered safety concerns among lawmakers that surfaced following the death of Taipei County Councilor Wu Shan-jeou (吳善九) of the People First Party, who was shot several times by a lone gunman at his office in Taipei County on May 23.

Before the gangland-style killing, Wu had also received a threatening letter containing a bullet.