The murderer of Lee Chim-shin (李志鑫), the head of the Taiwanese Business Association (TBA) in Cambodia, is expected to be apprehended today, a source said.
"The police have targeted two groups," the source said yesterday, "If Liu Chuen-shin (劉純興) identifies the photo of the perpetrator tomorrow morning, the police will know who hired the hitman.
Liu Chuen-shin is the only eyewitness to the murder. He and Lee were in the same car when the murder happened last Thursday. Lee was shot dead on the spot and Liu was wounded in the left hand.
Liu is staying at Da Zheng Hospital under the protection of the Cambodian police.
Cambodian investigators have narrowed down their investigation to three possible scenarios. All of them involve Taiwanese.
Many in the Taiwanese business community believe Lee was killed over a financial dispute involving Liu Shin-yi (劉信一) over US$45,000 owed to a Cambodian businessman.
Liu is known to have had problems with some of the board members in the concrete company, which is owned by both Cambodian and Taiwanese businessmen.
Lee helped Liu Shin-yi deal with the dispute with the Cambodian businessman. It is believed that in helping Liu with his debt to the businessmen, he interfered too intrusively with the affairs of Liu's company which may have resulted in his death.
Liu told the police that he returned US$45,000 owed to the Cambodian businessman, but forgot to take back a check, given to the businessman as a guarantee. When the Cambodian wanted Liu to honor the check even after Liu paid the US$45,000 in cash, Liu sought Lee's help.
But some Taiwanese businessmen said Liu's claims were unreliable.
The Cambodian businessman then sued for non-payment of the check three months ago and the court then subsequently issued an order calling for Liu's arrest.
"Taiwanese businessmen are very complicated," said Lim Ly, vice chief of Police Office of Tourist of Phnom Penh who is in charge of this murder case.
"Too many factions," he said, "they even confuse the truth sometimes, which makes the investigation harder,."
Ly declined to comment further.
"But the vice chief of Police in Phnom Penh, Pak Keng Hong, was a good friend of Lee," Ly added, "He (the chief of police) has ordered that we quickly solve the murder."
Liu showed up on Monday at Lee's memorial ceremony to express his condolences to Lee's family under the protection of Bamboo union member Chen Chi-li (陳啟禮), who has been living in Cambodia for over four years to avoid arrest in Taiwan.
Liu hopes to go back to Taiwan soon, but his passport has been confiscated by the court.
Cambodian police dispatched three police motorcyclists to lead a funeral parade yesterday. Lee's body was taken to the airport for its return to Taiwan with around 50 people and 20 cars escorting the casket.
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