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Detention ordered in murder case
OFFER OF HELP:
One of the suspects allegedly ran a Tamsui Township hotel where he let homeless people stay while he and others plotted to kill them
By Rich Chang
STAFF REPORTER
Thursday, Mar 27, 2008, Page 4
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A man suspected of murdering several homeless people covers his face to prevent being photographed after being arrested on Monday in Taipei.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
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A woman suspected of being a member of a gang responsible for the deaths of several homeless people was yesterday ordered detained by the Taipei District Court, while police continue to search for more victims.
Shilin District Court yesterday ordered that Tung Hsiao-jung (董小榕), the fifth suspected member of the gang, be kept in custody.
The other suspects include main suspect Lee Hsien-chang (李憲璋), Yang Ming-chang (楊明璋), Sung Ching-tsai (宋進財) and another woman, Lien Shang-ying (連上瑩).
Police believe the five have killed several homeless people after using their names to apply for life insurance or loans.
Lee ran a hotel in Taipei County's Tamsui Township (淡水), where he housed several homeless people while plotting to kill them, police said.
Police said so far they believe the gang are responsible for three deaths, while another two suspected victims are missing.
Authorities raided Lee's hotel on Monday, rescuing four men and a woman who were reported to be in very bad physical condition.
Among them was a man surnamed Lo, who told officers he had been kept there for two years. Police are still looking for more than 20 other people who are thought to have been held at the hotel.
The three victims were surnamed Liang, Shih and Chen.
Police said they believed Lee had arranged for his girlfriend Lien Shang-ying to marry a homeless man surnamed Liang, who they later bought insurance for. Lee then ordered Yang and Sung to accompany Liang on a trip to Huangshan, a famed tourist spot in China, where the two men were believed to have killed Liang by pushing him off a cliff, they said.
Lien then received insurance payouts after the "accident," police said.
Lee also arranged for his ex-wife Tung Hsiao-jung to marry a homeless man surnamed Shih who they later bought insurance for. But Shih died a few months after the marriage, officers said.
Police said they suspected Shih had been poisoned by the gang.
Another homeless man surnamed Chen died of illness after Lee used his name to obtain several bank loans.
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