Kaohsiung police yesterday detained a Lingya District (苓雅) resident as the prime suspect in the murder of a man whose remains were found this week in two duffel bags dumped into the Love River (愛河).
The suspect was identified as a 60-year-old man surnamed Lo (羅), who was reportedly an acquaintance of the victim, an 80-year-old man surnamed Wang (王).
After being first taken to a police precinct, Lo was transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning.
Lo allegedly killed the victim over a debt of about NT$100,000 according to Weng Shih-min (翁士閔), captain of the investigation unit at the Sanmin First Precinct.
Lo reportedly went to Wang’s apartment on Saturday last week to demand repayment of the debt, but the men quarreled, and Lo allegedly strangled Wang, Weng said.
“Lo denied beating or torturing the victim, but admitted to using a cleaver to cut up the body so he could dispose the remains and to cover up the crime,” Weng said.
Surveillance cameras at Wang’s apartment building showed Lo leaving and then returning later that night with two duffel bags before leaving with the bags on a motorcycle, police said.
Lo had worked as a night market food vendor, while Wang, who lived on his own, was dependent on social assistance payment from the Kaohsiung City Government, they said.
Police were able to crack the case and track down Lo by reviewing surveillance camera footage from along the Love River, finding a motorcyclist with black bags behaving suspiciously early Monday morning, Weng said.
“After that we traced the motorcycle’s movement through the streets on the morning of June 22 to identify the suspect and to find out where he was living,” Weng said. “We were also able to positively identify the victim, based on fingerprints and a DNA test.”
National Police Agency Director-General Chen Ja-chin (陳家欽) arrived in Kaohsiung yesterday just in time for Weng and other police officials to announce they believed they had solved the case and detained a suspect.
“I planned to come here to check up and discuss the progress of the investigation into this serious murder. It was a pleasant surprise that the police here had worked so quickly, collecting evidence and piecing together the clues to solve this crime in about 40 hours after the remains were found,” Chen said.
“This excellent work was the result of the diligent efforts of local police investigators, with assistance from Criminal Investigation Bureau units. The suspect has been detained, and we have been able to provide Kaohsiung residents with details of the case, which has restored public order and safety,” Chen added.
Two sanitation workers cleaning along the banks of the river found one duffel bag floating in the water on Monday, and another on Tuesday.
After seeing traces of blood coming from the second bag, one worker opened it and found decomposing human remains, and the pair called police.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as