A Changhua college student surnamed Ho (何) was arrested on Sunday after turning himself in to the police saying he had murdered his father because the latter had allegedly abused Ho’s mother for a long time.
The police detained Ho overnight and started questioning him yesterday morning.
The 22-year-old Ho had been studying at a national university in northern Taiwan, but transferred to a private college this semester, police said, adding that the victim was 54 years old and had worked as a janitor at a private college in central Taiwan.
According to the police, Ho had long nursed a grudge against his father for being abusive toward his mother, especially after drinking.
Ho argued with his father on Sunday evening after the latter returned home from drinking. The elder Ho had subsequently gone upstairs to rest, police said.
According to the police, the son then drank two beers and took a knife that he had bought earlier this month upstairs to murder his father in his sleep.
His mother was not home at the time of the incident, nor were any other family members, they added.
The victim had 15 knife wounds on his face, chest and right shoulder. One laceration on his face was so deep that bone was visible, police said, adding that what has been preliminarily determined as the mortal wound was more than 19cm long and 5cm deep.
The extent of the stabbing indicates that the 54-year-old would have been dead before he could reach a hospital, the police said.
Ho’s mother said that her son had acted in a moment of uncontrollable rage and had not meant to kill his father, but Yuanlin Precinct officers said that Ho had not expressed significant remorse when he confessed to the crime.
They added that Ho buying the murder weapon — a 32cm-long knife — 10 days in advance may suggest that the killing was premeditated.
After finishing their questioning, police charged Ho with murder and forwarded the case to the Changhua County District Prosecutors’ Office.
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