Police in Taoyuan yesterday arrested a man suspected of murdering an Internet cafe employee after a disagreement over money.
The 35-year-old man, surnamed Su (蘇), allegedly stabbed to death a 19-year-old man, surnamed Liu (劉), after he refused to lend Su money late on Friday night while Liu was on his way to work, police said.
Su, who police described as an “unemployed recluse,” had made the Internet cafe his “home” for nearly five years, police said.
Su’s parents had apparently stopped paying for his Internet use, so he had begun borrowing money from others at the cafe, police said.
The stabbing occurred on Nanfeng Road in Pingjhen District (平鎮), after which Su returned to the cafe to change clothes before turning himself in at the Pingjhen Police Station, officers said.
Residents in the area told police they had seen Su at about 11pm walking in front of a 7-Eleven convenience store on Nanfeng Road and mumbling to himself.
Liu’s sister told police that Su was well-known among staff at the Internet cafe. He spoke quietly and kept to himself, and there was nothing out of the ordinary about him.
She said she found Liu’s body when she went searching for him after he failed to arrive at work on time.
She was confused as to why his wallet and phone were not stolen, she said.
The case has been referred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office, police said.
In other news, a woman sitting in the back seat of a vehicle involved in a car chase died yesterday after she was struck by a shot fired by a police officer.
Police in Taoyuan’s Bade District (八德) began pursuing the vehicle at 11:40pm on Friday after the driver — who had been driving erratically — refused to pull over.
The driver, a man surnamed Wu (吳), had a blood alcohol reading of 0.49 milligrams per liter, police said.
The woman was rushed to a hospital and was pronounced dead at 7am yesterday, police said.
Prosecutors are investigating the officer’s use of the firearm.
Police officials said that they are helping the woman’s family.
The weapon was fired after Wu sped up and hit other vehicles in an attempt to escape arrest, officers said.
Wu’s case has been sent to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office with charges of obstructing an officer in discharge of their duties, police said.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Wu-hsiung
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