One of the main suspects in the beating death of a police detective in Taipei earlier this month, Chou Yu-teng (周譽騰), turned himself in to the authorities yesterday afternoon after a manhunt by police, as the government faces pressure to investigate allegations of police corruption.
Chou was accompanied by his lawyer as he surrendered to the Taipei City Police Criminal Investigation Division office.
Hsueh Chen-kuo (薛貞國) died on Sept. 14 after being beaten up by a mob outside the ATT 4 FUN shopping mall in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義).
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The 38-year-old detective was assaulted by a group of about 50 people with sticks and knives in an ordeal that lasted at least three minutes.
He sustained multiple blows to the head and was declared dead after being rushed to hospital, police said.
Alleged to be a member of the Four Seas Gang, Chou yesterday said through his lawyer that he was not the one who shouted: “Kill him!” to fellow gang members, as reported by local media, adding that he was just an onlooker and did not take part in the incident.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice announced that it would set up a special task force to investigate allegations that corruption by Taipei police had played a role in the incident, adding that the ministry’s Agency Against Corruption would handle the investigation.
Separately, the Ministry of Finance said it would start conducting strict checks of the financial accounts and tax returns of nightclubs and related entertainment businesses.
In response to allegations that corrupt police have been receiving a slice of lucrative nightclub revenues, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford (張盛和) promised a government crackdown.
Chang said his ministry’s National Taxation Bureau is working with the Taipei City Government and its police units to conduct more spot checks on nightclubs and related entertainment venues, and together would also look into business accounts and check for tax evasion.
Chang made the remarks on Monday amid questions by lawmakers accusing the finance ministry of negligence, as top-line nightclubs in Taipei City reportedly make profits of several tens of millions of NT dollars each month, with little scrutiny by tax officials.
Hsueh’s family on Monday filed a suit with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) for insinuating that Hsueh was corrupt.
Saying he had received calls from nightclub operators saying Taipei City police colluded with triads in these profitable entertainment venues, Chung last week suggested that Hsueh was one of the corrupt officers, who allegedly acted in a “white-glove” role, collecting bribes to distribute to his police colleagues in the Taipei Xinyi District Police Precinct.
“We heard these accusations in the media, so we had to stand up to defend my husband’s reputation. Our family wants to know what happened, and we believe the truth will clear his tarnished name,” Hsueh’s wife said.
Chung said he stands by his words.
Additional reporting by CNA
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