Suspect arrested for killing coworker and attempting to disguise death as traffic accident
A man was arrested yesterday, and charged as a suspect in a homicide case, after police found that the body of a man burned in an apparent motor scooter crash in Tainan City had multiple stab wounds.
The Tainan City Fire Department received reports of a scooter on fire at the entrance of the Yingxi Lake car park in Tainan Science Park at around 5:00 am, yesterday, December 29.
After extinguishing the fire, firefighters found a charred body of a man, and called the police. Police investigators noticed stab wounds in the back and abdomen of the body, and immediately launched a homicide investigation.
Less than four hours later, police arrested a 30-year-old man named Hong. According to the investigation, Hong was jealous of a 37-year-old colleague, named Ye, who was dating Hong’s ex-girlfriend.
With the knowledge that Ye was finishing nightshift at the Innolux panel factory at 4:30 am, Hong waited and confronted Ye in the car park. The two men scuffled, and Hong stabbed Ye multiple times in the back and abdomen.
After Ye collapsed, Hong bundled him onto the footboard of Ye’s motor scooter, intending to ride to Yangxi Lake and dump the body. However, Hong had difficulty keeping control of the scooter, and crashed into a light post at the entrance to the Yingxi Lake car park. The scooter’s fuel cap came off in the crash, spilling gasoline onto the road. Hong then decided to ignite the fuel in an attempt to disguise Ye’s death as a traffic accident.
After his arrest at his home at around 8:00 am, Hong confessed to the murder, saying that Ye has attempted to strangle him before Hong stabbed him.
The Tainan District Prosecutor’s Office charged Hong on suspicion of homicide, and applied to the District Court to keep Hong in detention. The court approved the request on the basis that the crime carried a sentence of more than 5 years.
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