UPDATE (5:30pm):
A fourth set of DNA has been identified at a murder suspect's house, leading police to suspect the man has harmed three women, Kaohsiung Police Department Chief Lin Yen-tian (林炎田) said today.
The third possible victim has been identified through DNA as the suspect’s sister-in-law who was reported missing on Dec. 15, he said.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
It has also been confirmed that the DNA of a second possible victim, a missing 75-year-old Zuoying woman surnamed Chang (張), was found at the scene, he said, adding that all three sets of DNA were found in blood stains in the same room.
Media have reported that the suspect’s home in Cianjhen District (前鎮) was originally owned by his older brother, who died in May last year, leaving the suspect’s sister-in-law to move to a residence in Nanzih District (楠梓).
Huang’s son worked in New Taipei City and filed a missing person's report last year after being unable to contact his mother for some time.
As no trace of her has been found since, it is not being ruled out that she is also a victim in a homicide case, police said.
ORIGINAL:
Police fear a second missing woman is connected to a Kaohsiung homicide case in which a 73-year-old man was detained on Wednesday for the alleged murder and dismemberment of a 71-year-old woman.
Traces of blood belonging to a third person have been found at the suspect’s home in Kaohsiung's Cianjhen District (前鎮), police said, leading them to suspect a second victim was harmed at the residence.
A 75-year-old woman from Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營), surnamed Chang (張), was last seen three weeks ago on security cameras at Sanmin Park in Kaohsiung’s Sanmin District (三民), having previously been spotted just 300m from the suspect’s residence.
Police have obtained a DNA sample from the missing woman’s daughter and are awaiting results to determine if the sample matches the blood found at the crime scene.
Police said yesterday that a 71-year-old woman, surnamed Lin (林), from Kaohsiung’s Nanzih District (楠梓) went missing on Sunday.
She was last seen that afternoon on surveillance footage riding her scooter with her 73-year-old boyfriend, also surnamed Chang (張), to his residence.
The woman’s family placed a missing person's report on Monday, which was upgraded to an emergency search on Tuesday.
Police discovered that the elderly man had made 12 trips outside his home between 6am and 10am on Monday morning, on five occasions carrying black garbage bags to a canal in Cianjhen.
Multiple body parts were recovered in the canal, while traces of Chao’s blood were found in the suspect’s home, leading police to apprehend him on Wednesday night on suspicion of murder.
The suspect was transferred to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office last night, and the Kaohsiung District Court this afternoon approved prosecutors’ request to formally detain him on suspicion of murder.
The second possible victim was first reported missing to Zuoying Precinct on Jan. 27 when her son returned from working abroad for the Lunar New Year, but had not heard from his mother in 10 days, the precinct said this morning.
The woman was last seen on Jan. 14 when her daughter dropped her off at her home on Fumin Road in Zuoying District.
After she did not return over the Lunar New Year, the family made another report on Jan. 31, escalating the search to an emergency missing person's case and leading investigators to review surveillance footage to track her movements.
Investigators found that the woman was last seen on security footage at about 1pm on Jan. 17 taking the MRT to Sanmin Park, where her daughter told police she often gathered with friends.
However, footage from Cianjhen District reportedly revealed she had previously been spotted just 300m from the suspect’s home.
Police are continuing to review surveillance footage and confirm timelines as they await the results of DNA analysis, while a special task force has been assembled at the Zuoying Precinct with the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office overseeing the investigation.
Additional reporting by Huang Liang-chieh and CNA
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS