Taipei City Police Department arrested a man late on Thursday night for threatening to assassinate Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (
Police referred the man to prosecutors for investigation yesterday.
Detective Lin Chih-cheng (
PHOTO: CNA
Lin said Chan was once a manager of a technology company, but had been unemployed since his company relocated to China.
Lin said Chan, a former member of the KMT, was trying to express his dissatisfaction with society and politics because he could barely make a living with the poor salary he earned from his job as a security guard.
"He believed the Republic of China would not be exterminated unless he killed Ma, Siew and all members of the KMT in Taiwan. He also said Taiwan could not become a nation unless Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu all asserted independence from each other and joined the UN," Lin said.
Lin said the suspect had sent two threatening anonymous e-mails to Ma, Siew and several KMT legislators late last month and earlier this month, threatening to kill them.
The police were able to determine Chan's whereabouts by matching Chan's Internet protocol address with that of the sender, Lin said, adding that the police also found copies of the threatening e-mails on his laptop.
Lin said the suspect had admitted the crime and expressed regret. Chan was released on NT$30,000 bail.
When asked for comment, KMT caucus whip Kuo Su-chun (
Kuo, however, said the caucus office did not receive any e-mails.
She urged the National Security Bureau to carry out its duty to protect the party's presidential candidate.
INFORMATION COMPILED BY STAFF REPORTER HSIANG CHENG-CHEN AND STA
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