Greater Kaohsiung police on Sunday arrested a suspect in a double slaying, in which he allegedly burned a house down in an attempt to destroy the crime scene.
Tsai Yung-ching (蔡永清) is suspected of killing a woman surnamed Yu (余) and her daughter.
The victims died of multiple stab wounds and were discovered on Sunday morning when firefighters were alerted to a fire at their house in Kaohisung’s Siaogang District (小港).
A police official said Tsai, 60, was detained on Sunday night as he rode a motorcycle near the crime scene.
Police found the dead woman’s house key on Tsai and after questioning him, retrieved the knife allegedly used in the slayings, which the suspect had allegedly tossed into a drainage ditch.
Tsai was quoted by police as admitting to killing Yu, 44, and her 19-year-old daughter, due to a financial dispute, and that he allegedly used a lighter to burn towels and clothing at the house to start a fire after the slayings.
Neighbors and other witnesses said they saw Tsai running out as the residence caught fire and smoke began billowing from the house.
Tsai, who was a former employee of the family, was hired by Yu’s husband as a truck driver.
Yu was originally from China’s Zhejiang Province and got married and settled in Kaohsiung 20 years ago.
As Yu’s husband was recuperating from an illness in China, Tsai who had romantic feelings for Yu, tried to persuade her to start a relationship, police said.
Tsai was also quoted by the police as saying that the family owed him money from work he had done.
He allegedly entered Yu’s house with a spare key and then got into an argument with Yu, before he allegedly took out a knife and stabbed her repeatedly, also killing her daughter as she tried to escape from the house, police said.
Police said Tsai has been charged with homicide and offenses against public safety.
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