Taichung prosecutors on Tuesday questioned five men in connection with the death of a teenager whose body was found in a hotel room.
The 17-year-old’s body was found on a bed by hotel staff on Monday and an initial examination suggested that the girl, who was referred to by the alias Hsiao-chen (小珍), had died from ingesting recreational drugs.
Coroners yesterday performed an autopsy and the results of drug tests would be available in the coming days, police said.
Prosecutors suspect that the men allegedly had sex with the teen and said that they could be charged with forcible sex, abandonment in causing death, exploitation of a minor and related charges.
After questioning the men, prosecutors said that a man surnamed Ho (何) and two of his friends allegedly had sex with Hsiao-chen and might have provided the drugs.
Investigators said one of the suspects brought “narcotic coffee powder” comprised of mixed recreational drugs, which the five men and Hsiao-chen consumed.
One told police that Hsiao-chen later laid down on the bed saying she was getting dizzy and had a stomachache.
Another man later found that she was not breathing and had no pulse, he said.
“We were all shocked, and got very scared due to what had happened, so everyone quickly grabbed their belongings and ran away, leaving her on the bed,” the second man was quoted as saying.
A court released the five on bail.
The victim’s mother, who is a Vietnamese national living in Tainan, told investigators that Hsiao-chen wanted to earn money, so she took jobs outside of the home, but that she did not know where her daughter worked.
Investigators said Hsiao-chen’s social media accounts and text messages suggested that she worked at modeling agencies as an escort, attended parties and events, and worked at nightclubs.
Hsiao-chen reportedly left home on Thursday last week, telling her mother that she was heading to Taichung to meet with friends.
She on Friday posted a message on a social media platform that said: “Are there any friends in Taichung who want to come partying with me?” investigators said.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS