A police officer in Taoyuan shot and killed his girlfriend and then committed suicide with a department firearm in the early hours of Sunday morning, investigators said.
Su Jui-wen (蘇芮文), a 28-year-old woman, was sleeping at the time of the attack and there were no signs of a struggle, investigators said.
Officers carrying weapons are required to be with a partner while on duty, but 27-year-old officer Hsu Chi-wei (許稚偉) allegedly snuck out of the station alone just after 3am, police said.
At 3:30am officers tried to reach Hsu by telephone, but he did not answer, police said.
Officers were dispatched to search for Hsu and his location was determined using his phone’s GPS signal, they said.
Police contacted Hsu’s landlord, who opened the door to their residence, where the couple were found dead, each with a bullet wound to the head and Hsu’s gun between them, they said.
Police said that a note found at the scene apparently signed by Hsu said: “Father and Mother Su, I’m sorry. I’ve taken Jui-wen with me. Mom and Dad, I’m sorry. I’ve let you down. Little Sister, you have to take good care of Mom and Dad. Older Sister, you have to pull yourself together and help take care of Mom and Dad. I want to be together with Jui-wen forever. When I got home from the hospital on June 7, I felt like I was dead — the pain was unbearable. I can’t get back to the way things used to be.”
Su’s parents said they had thought of Hsu as their son-in-law and had treated him like their own child, adding: “How could he have the heart to take her away?”
According to police, the couple met as classmates in the Department of Special Education at National Taichung University of Education.
Those close to the couple said they had been together for seven years and were on good terms with each other, adding that they moved into a rented apartment together in April last year and had been discussing marriage.
Hsu underwent surgery on June 7 to shrink his gastric cardia, but he continued to have difficulty swallowing.
On Aug. 16 he underwent a second operation to slightly restore the width of the cardia, and was told to rest for one month.
He returned to duty on Friday last week. Colleagues said he had not been acting out of the ordinary.
Against the wishes of both families, autopsies were to be conducted yesterday, as police said doing so was necessary to determine whether Su was sedated, among other details.
The Taoyuan City Police Department said it has reprimanded staff who were responsible for firearms security at the station.
Police officers undergo tremendous stress in their day-to-day duties, while emotional and family issues can be the “last straw” that leads to suicide, said a police officer who declined to be named.
The officer said many people on the force suppress issues rather than talking about them, adding that the bureau is able to help through its Teacher Kuan’s Loving Garden program, as well as the Teacher Hsieh’s Consultation Group established by the Taipei City Police Bureau.
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