A “career criminal” was arrested on Dec. 21 by Taipei police after having been on the run for 23 years, the Shilin Precinct said in a statement on Monday.
The precinct said it acted on an anonymous tip that a member of an organized crime group, surnamed Chen (陳), had been seen in Taipei’s Shilin District (士林), where he was previously known to operate.
Chen, known by the nickname “Teacher Chen,” was a career criminal who operated out of Shezi Neighborhood (社子), it said.
Photo: Taipei Times file
Chen was heavily involved with loan shark and debt collecting operations, but he went on the run on Dec. 10, 1999, after he and an accomplice allegedly shot a person in a karaoke bar, killing them, it said.
After a warrant was issued in 2000, Chen evaded arrest for 23 years, showing an understanding of police techniques that enabled him to move between New Taipei City and Taoyuan, it said.
Chen never carried identification, had no fixed residence, generally only went out at night to avoid being seen and only traveled by walking or cycling, it said.
However, in the past two years, he began to operate out of Shezi again, likely because the statute of limitations was about to expire on his warrant and because he had been away from the area he was familiar with for an extended period while refraining from contacting acquaintances, police said.
The precinct said that its chief, Huang Shwei-uain (黃水願), established a special taskforce in response to the sighting of Chen.
The taskforce collected enough evidence to arrest Chen on Dec. 21 when he was dining with friends, it said.
As there was no photograph of Chen on file, police had to take his fingerprints to confirm his identity for the arrest, upon which he was transferred to the prosecutors’ office on suspicion of murder, it added.
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