A retired Pingtung County police officer was detained by judges on Friday on suspicion of killing his younger brother to claim an insurance pay-out.
Pingtung investigators said on July 21 a man surnamed Yu (游), 49, was hit and killed by an unlicensed car as he was riding a bicycle near his home in the county.
Investigators said they later determined the car was red and traced it to Yu’s brother, Yu Chien-tsun (游建村), 51, a retired police officer.
Investigators said they found the car burned and abandoned in a remote area in Greater Kaohsiung’s Liouguei District (六龜).
They added that they found that Yu Chien-tsun had, over three years, taken out three insurance policies worth nearly NT$30 million (US$1 million) on behalf of his brother and named him as the beneficiary. Since the death of his brother, Yu Chien-tsun had already claimed nearly NT$10 million, investigators said.
According to the investigators, the deceased was slightly mentally challenged, had not been married and lived alone.
Investigators said that since Yu Chien-tsun retired in June last year, he had made investments in hotel and motel businesses, but they had not been successful, leaving him nearly NT$10 million in debt.
Yu Chien-tsun was arrested on Friday. He denied any involvement in the alleged murder.
However, because the ex-police officer failed to clear some of the allegations against him, investigators said county judges decided to detain him for further questioning.