Police have detained Wang Wen-tsung (王文宗), chairman of Tainan’s Cihji Temple, and listed him as an additional suspect in two shooting incidents at Democratic Progressive Party-linked sites in the city’s Syuejia District (學甲) in November last year.
Prosecutors accused Wang of harboring criminals, possessing illegal firearms and other offenses, police said, adding that a court has approved their detention request after determining that Wang was a flight risk, might collude with others involved in the case and try to destroy evidence.
Wang was detained after two other suspects in the case, Hung Cheng-chun (洪政軍) and Kung Hsiang-chih (孔祥志), were on Feb. 25 extradited to Taiwan after fleeing to China in the wake of the shootings.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
Early on Nov. 10, Kung allegedly fired 58 shots at the building of a technology firm run by former DPP Central Executive Committee member Kuo Tsai-chin (郭再欽), before firing 30 shots at the nearby campaign headquarters of then-DPP Tainan City Councilor candidate Hsieh Shu-fan (謝舒凡).
Police said Hung told them that Wang had helped him flee.
Wang allegedly traveled twice to China to arrange accommodation for Hung, subsidized his living expenses and provided him with mobile phones, police said.
On Saturday, DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) wrote on Facebook that Wang Wen-tsung has ties to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
The temple chairman previously headed the KMT’s Syuejia District office, the Syuejia District Ma Ying-jeou Support Association, a presidential election campaign office of KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) and an office of Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介), Wang Ting-yu said.
The temple chairman also acted as head of a local office for the China Unification Promotion Party, he said.
Hsieh Lung-chieh denied that Wang Wen-tsung had been his office head, saying that he only supported his electoral campaign, while maintaining good relations with local politicians of all parties.
KMT headquarters yesterday denied ties between Chu and Wang Wen-tsung, saying that he did not run his presidential election campaign office in 2016, nor that of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2012.
Additional reporting by Yang Chin-cheng, Wang Chun-chung and Tsai Chung-chu
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