The suspected gunman in the shooting of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Committee member Sean Lien (連勝文) has told investigators that it was a case of mistaken identity and that he was aiming for a KMT politician — claims that have allegedly been corroborated by two polygraph tests, reports said yesterday.
Citing unspecified sources, the Chinese-language United Daily News (UDN) reported yesterday that based on two lie detector tests administered by police over the weekend, “it was almost certain” that the shooting was a case of mistaken identity.
The newspaper said the suspect, Lin Cheng-wei (林正偉) — also known as Ma Mien (馬面) — told investigators he was involved in a land dispute with members of KMT Taipei County Deputy Speaker Chen Hung-yuan’s (陳鴻源) family. This version of events, the newspaper reported, was confirmed by the lie detector tests and “several witnesses.”
PHOTO: CNA
Sean Lien was shot at the rally for Chen the night before the special municipality elections on Nov. 27.
Lin told investigators Chen still owed him a large sum of money and that he brought the pistol to the election rally to “vent his anger.” During questioning by police, Lin insisted that he mistook Lien, a son of former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), for Chen and fired the gun into his face, the UDN report said.
The Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office has confirmed that two polygraph tests were administered over the weekend and that four witnesses have so far been questioned. However, it said that those were preliminary findings and additional evidence was required before the investigation could be closed.
“[Prosecutors] are still actively working toward understanding the suspect’s motives for the crime and whether any other accomplices were involved,” the office said in a statement yesterday.
The shooting initially gave rise to speculation that it was staged by KMT politicians, coming as it did just hours before the special municipality elections, in which the KMT retained the three special municipalities of Taipei City, Sinbei City and Greater Taichung, while the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) kept two — Greater Tainan and Greater Kaohsiung.
Just after the shooting, some members of the KMT and the pan-blue media, hinting that the DPP may have been behind the shooting, told the electorate to say “no to violence” through their vote the next day.
Politicians from both parties, as well as the media, have been engaged in a bitter dispute over whether the shooting, which left a 29-year-old bystander dead, had an impact on the outcome of the elections.
KMT lawmakers yesterday called on investigators to release some of the evidence to the public, including seized video footage of the incident, saying it would help dispel doubts over whether the former vice president’s son was the intended target.
Sean Lien, who has since made a steady recovery and was discharged from hospital on Sunday night, maintains he was the intended target of his attacker.
“Sean Lien believes in his heart that the shooter came solely for him,” KMT Legislator Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) told a press conference, held after he met the victim earlier in the morning.
Releasing the video footage would clear up any misconceptions, he said.
On comments reportedly made by Sean Lien that he heard the shooter call out his name prior to pulling the trigger, Hsieh said he could have misheard because dozens of other supporters were yelling his name at the time.
The shooting occurred just as Sean Lien was being introduced at the campaign event.
Also supporting the possibility of mistaken identity, KMT Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福), who was present at the scene, said Sean Lien was shot just as he had walked up to the stage after swapping seats with the deputy speaker.
Standing center stage, under the glare of the lights, it “wasn’t impossible” for the shooter to mistake his target, Lin Te-fu said.
The dispute over the suspected shooter’s target and motive could leave some KMT politicians red-faced after several implied that it was a political shooting.
The DPP has said it has not ruled out filing lawsuits over several remarks made that night.
Footage obtained by the Taipei Times of the popular TV talk show Speaking Your Mind at 2100 on the night of the incident showed KMT Legislator Chiu Yi (邱毅) saying DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who was running as candidate for Sinbei City mayor, condoned the shooting, adding that it was heartbreaking to see such an incident take place in “democratic and civilized Taiwan.”
“Could it be possible that [Tsai] is a two-sided character? On one side, [she] emphasizes reasonable dialogue, but on the other side, [she] turns a blind eye and agitates supporters to conduct such a violent act,” Chiu said on the show, minutes after the incident.
If claims that the KMT deputy speaker was the intended target were true and that the shooting was not politically motivated, DPP lawmakers said KMT politicians would “need to do some explaining.”
Otherwise, some DPP lawmakers said, they could be found guilty of trying to influence the election.
“[The suspect] passed the lie detector test, but the KMT appears to have failed the same test,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said. “This whole incident had nothing whatsoever to do with the DPP, but through political manipulation, the KMT managed to create an advantage for itself in the vote.”
This interpretation of events appears to have rattled members of the Lien family, who said through a family friend yesterday that Sean Lien was clearly the intended target. The friend, Lee Te-wei (李德偉), said Sean Lien did not rule out personally explaining his side of events in the near future.
“A mistaken shooting could take place at 5m, 10m, 20m or even 100m away,” he said, referring to the incident that day. “But no one will hold a gun up to [the victim’s] head and mistake the target.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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