A 24-year-old Malaysian student who was found dead on Thursday in her rented apartment on Dadong Road in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) was likely strangled to death, police said yesterday as they awaited the results of an autopsy.
The student’s boyfriend at about 6pm on Thursday called the police, saying that he had found her dead in her apartment, police said.
The boyfriend — who police suspects of killing the student, surnamed Chai (蔡) — was later rushed to hospital from his home in New Taipei City’s Yingge District (鶯歌), after overdosing on over-the-counter drugs, police said, adding that they believe he tried to commit suicide.
Chinese-language media reported that the boyfriend, a 30-year-old Taiwanese surnamed Chen (陳), before he lost consciousness allegedly confessed to police that he had killed Chai.
Late on Friday, Chai’s parents and two other family members arrived in Taiwan, and her father urged law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into his daughter’s death so that justice could be served.
The family said that Chai was just two credits short of graduating from university.
Police said an initial investigation found that Chai had been working part-time as a model and as a livestreamer on a social entertainment platform.
Early this month, she and Chen met via social media, police said.
Surveillance camera footage showed that a man suspected to be Chen went to Chai’s apartment at 5pm on Wednesday and left around noon the next day to return to Yingge, where Chen lives alone, police said.
Chen has regained consciousness and was in a stable condition in hospital, police said, adding that they are planning to question him about Chai’s death in the coming days.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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