Police on Tuesday detained a 16-year-old suspect who allegedly killed his mother after she refused to give him money.
Counselors and judicial officers on Wednesday talked to the suspect, surnamed Hsiang (向), at a youth detention center in New Taipei City. They said the boy cried and expressed regret over his actions.
Hsiang was arrested by police in New Taipei City’s Sinjhuang District (新莊) on Tuesday and was taken to a juvenile court for questioning. The judge approved his detention at the youth center pending a criminal investigation.
Police quoted Hsiang as saying that he had asked his 17-year-old friend, surnamed Lee (李), a taekwondo practitioner, to accompany him to his house on Monday.
When they arrived at Hsiang’s home in a condominium complex, they punched Hsiang’s mother repeatedly in the head, knocking her unconscious, then dragged her to another apartment also owned by Hsiang’s mother, police said.
They said Hsiang told them he slashed his mother’s neck with a knife and left her bleeding.
Hsiang’s stepfather, suspecting that something was wrong when he could not reach his wife, called the police.
Police found his wife’s body in the other apartment.
According to a preliminary investigation, Hsiang is an only child whose mother doted on him, providing him with all his material needs, including an iPhone, branded products, his own apartment and money to spend.
Police said Hsiang told them he got angry when he asked his mother for NT$60,000 — the latest in his constant demands for money — because he wanted to buy a branded tote bag for his girlfriend, but his mother refused.
Hsiang said his plan was to knock his mother unconscious and take her money, but that he changed his mind after thinking she might get back at him if she regained consciousness, police said.
“I thought she might create trouble for me later, so I decided to kill her,” police quoted Hsiang as saying.
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