Following Wednesday’s failed jailbreak attempt at Kaohsiung Prison, questions have been raised about the background of Cheng Li-te (鄭立德), the purported ringleader of the escape attempt who ended the 14-hour-long hostage standoff by shooting himself.
Cheng, 45, was a member of the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) triad with a long criminal record. He was arrested in August 2012 in Kaohsiung and was serving a 28-and-a-half-year prison term for multiple offenses including abetting murder and illegal weapons possession.
A man who said he knew Cheng for more than 25 years and gave his surname as Chen (陳) said Cheng had married twice and had three children, the eldest of whom is 20 years old and the youngest five.
Photo: CNA
“Cheng and I were not very close, but I had always admired him for his courage to take responsibility for whatever he did,” Chen said.
Chen said one of the charges against Cheng was false, saying that Cheng was not guilty of abetting a murder five years ago.
Cheng was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
“Cheng was a fierce person. He would definitely admit to the crime if he truly was the one responsible for the murder. However, if someone fell down on the street and died, you cannot frame him,” Chen said.
Elaborating on the incident, Chen said one of Cheng’s underlings killed someone after drinking at the same table with Cheng. The man was sentenced to 16 years in prison, while Cheng was imprisoned for doing nothing, Chen said.
“Even after he was thrown behind bars, Cheng was indignant whenever someone brought up the matter,” Chen added.
Photo: Fang Chih-hsien, Taipei Times
Chen also dismissed speculation that Cheng was the ringleader, saying that as Cheng’s term was the second-shortest among the six would-be escapees, he had no reason to mastermind the action.
The other prisoners, who also committed suicide, were serving terms ranging from 25 years to life for burglary, drug possession and other offenses.
Pingtung County Police Bureau’s First Investigation Platoon commander Shih Chia-hung (石加宏), who participated in Cheng’s 2012 arrest, described the convict as a truculent gangster.
“At the time [of his arrest], Cheng had two handguns on him, but he did not draw them when we identified ourselves as police. However, he still fiercely resisted arrest and grappled with us,” Shih said.
Cheng gave off a “strong badass vibe,” Shih said.
Fearing an escape attempt, Shih never brought Cheng into the police station for questioning.
“Instead, we always questioned Cheng inside the detention center where he was being kept,” he said.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build
RSS