Tainan police yesterday arrested a suspect in Thursday night's highway murder case and admitted that they had arrested the wrong man on Friday night.
Tainan County Police Chief Huang Fu-sheng (
"I apologized to Chen Jung-chi [
PHOTO: WANG CHUN-CHUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Huang said police and prosecutors had contacted the Tainan District Court to secure Chen's release.
Chen had told police he was at a night market in Chiayi on Thursday evening and had gone home at 10pm. He said he did not drive on the highway.
Chen's mother had told local reporters that her child is mentally retarded and could not possibly have committed the crime.
Huang said police had learned that Chen received a cellphone call around the time that the highway murder was committed. As the call was received by a cellphone station in Chiayi and not in Tainan County where the murder took place, Chen could not have committed the crime, Huang said.
Eyewitnesses
Chen had been apprehended because two police officers and a female witness had identified him as being in the car with primary suspect Shih Kuo-ching (
Witnesses had said that one of the suspects had a harelip, as Chen does, Huang added.
Police yesterday morning arrested Fang Hsu-liang (
Huang said Fang had admitted that he and his friend Shih had planned to drive to Kaoshiung to collect a debt of NT$2 million (US$60,300) that was owed to them.
However, Fang denied any involvement in the violence that occurred in Tainan County, saying that it was Shih who had attacked police officers and murdered a passing driver on the highway.
The episode began when two Tainan County police officers, Lin You-chung (
The chase ended in Liouchia (
Gunshot
When the police approached the vehicle, one of its occupants grabbed an officer's gun and fired a shot, missing the officer.
As the suspects' vehicle was no longer in a condition to be driven, the suspects attempted to hijack a passing car.
The unfortunate driver, Hsiao Min-hsiang (
Hsiao was later found dead in his vehicle.
A woman surnamed Lee later drove by the intersection and was threatened by the suspects with a pistol, whereupon she surrendered her vehicle.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS