A 46-year-old man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), has today been transferred to the New Taipei District Court Prosecutors Office for further questioning after he yesterday allegedly committed a double murder, killing his wife and sister-in-law in New Taipei’s Tucheng District (土城).
The man, who has a criminal record of domestic abuse, rammed his car into his 42-year-old wife and her 33-year-old younger sister, both surnamed Chang (張), before stabbing the two to death on Section 2 of Mingde Road at approximately 11am yesterday morning.
Hsieh was allegedly unhappy that his wife had applied for a restraining order against him in May.
Photo: Hsu Sheng-lun, Taipei Times
The couple had been married for several years and had two daughters together.
Hsieh gave a formal statement at 9am this morning and was transferred to prosecutors at 10:40am on suspicion of murder.
Upon arrest, Hsieh cried to reporters and claimed mental illness, though police believe the murder was premeditated, as he bought the murder weapons on Sunday.
According to the police investigation, Hsieh has a record of multiple domestic abuse incidents from 2023.
Chang applied for a temporary restraining order against Hsieh in May, which was granted on June 25 following a domestic abuse incident and prevented him from seeing his two daughters.
The investigation has found that Hsieh was unemployed for some time and, after being issued the restraining order, had returned to live in his hometown in Pingtung County.
Hsieh returned to New Taipei for a court hearing regarding the restraining order, it found.
Hsieh broke the conditions of the restraining order on Saturday, going to Chang’s residence to collect his personal belongings, during which he had an argument with Chang.
As Hsieh began shouting and throwing things, Chang called the police, who apprehended Hsieh for breaking the conditions of the restraining order.
The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office granted Hsieh bail on Sunday.
The husband and wife appeared in family court at the New Taipei District Court yesterday morning, after which the Chang sisters returned home by scooter.
Hsieh followed the pair back to his wife’s residence and rammed his car into their scooter.
He then got out of the car with a knife and a metal baton and stabbed the two to death.
Both sisters succumbed to their injuries.
Video footage of the incident, which was over a minute, was leaked last night, having been captured by the dashcam of a nearby vehicle.
After the incident, Hsieh posted on Facebook that he had killed his wife and her sister, saying he was giving a “friendly heads-up” and notifying his brother-in-law to go to the hospital, adding “I’ve already killed your wife.”
Hsieh fled the scene by car, though police had already obtained his license plate number, issued a full alert and tracked him heading southwards along National Highway No.3.
Once Hsieh noticed that police were tailing him, he posted on Facebook that “the police are following me, they’re going to get me.”
Hsieh exited the highway at the Hemei Interchange (和美) in Changhua County and turned himself in at the nearest police station, the Shengang Police Station (伸港), where he was detained at 1:25pm yesterday afternoon.
As Hsieh initially fled the scene of the incident, he does not meet the conditions for voluntary surrender or a reduced sentence.
Police today recovered a large kitchen knife with clear traces of blood and a small metal baton, which Hsieh had discarded along the highway, in New Taipei’s Yingge District (鶯歌).
The video posted online shows Hsieh first stab the younger sister while the older sister tried to push Hsieh away. Hsieh then stabbed his wife several times before passers-by stopped to intervene, at which point he fled the scene.
Prosecutors and police today conducted a post-mortem examination of the two women’s bodies.
The family of the deceased, including their two parents, the youngest sister and the husband of the younger deceased sister, this morning accompanied prosecutors to the coroner’s office, with their father so upset he could not walk without being held up.
“That heartless man took both of my daughters from me, what am I supposed to do now?” he said to reporters.
According to reports, after the women’s parents identified their daughters’ bodies, the father was initially too distraught to provide a statement to police.
A full coroner's report giving the exact cause of death is expected to be released tomorrow.
Restraining orders are found to be 80 percent effective, but in this case the woman still lost her life, Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation Executive Director Tu Ying-chiu (杜瑛秋) said.
Police are unable to protect victims 24 hours a day, so after placing a restraining order, victims should remain vigilant at all times, report to police if they notice any stalking or harassing behavior and apply for free services available at women’s shelters, she said.
New Taipei’s Department of Social Welfare said it received a report of domestic violence regarding the couple in May and had been providing assistance.
It would fully cooperate with the prosecutors’ investigation and provide support to the family, it added.
Additional reporting by Wu Jen-chieh, Hsu Sheng-lun and CNA
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