After having spent a day in custody, suspect Wang Yuan (王淵) yesterday reportedly admitted to having committed three robberies attributed to the “Raincoat Robber,” but said he had nothing to do with four other armored truck thefts.
Police said Wang admitted to having robbed armored trucks from the Taiwan Business Bank branch on Nanjing E Road in 2005 and 2010, as well as to the robbery of an armored truck from the Taiwan Cooperative Bank in 2007.
Meanwhile, a reported friend of Wang’s, surnamed Huang (黃), told police on Thursday evening that Wang had left about NT$3 million (US$101,300) in his care and another friend, Lin Tien-sheng (林添勝), accompanied by his lawyer, turned over to police a grenade and various firearms he claimed Wang had left in his care.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
Wang was turned over by police to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday, which charged him with crimes of robbery and attempted murder, as well as with violation of the Act on Controling Guns, Ammunition and Knives (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例).
The prosecutors’ office applied to the Taipei District Court to hold Wang on grounds that he had tried to leave the country and destroyed evidence. The application was granted. Police said the three robberies Wang admitted to left one security guard dead and another severely injured, and netted him NT$40.8 million, most of which he has spent.
To solidify their case, police are focusing their attention on the most recent robbery that Wang has admitted to — that of a truck from the Taiwan Business Bank branch on Nanjing E Road on March 26 this year. They then plan to probe the other two robberies next week.
Police said the March theft netted Wang NT$28.3 million, most of which he has spent.
Wang’s father, Wang Chao-wen (王兆文), and his mother both served as police officers. Some in police circles said that it is hard to believe that the son of parents who have been police officers was actually the “Raincoat Robber.
Translated by Jake Chung, staff writer
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