A 30-year-old man suspected of killing a Malaysian student in Taipei has been detained and is being held incommunicado, the Shilin District Prosecutors Office said Tuesday after it obtained a court order to that effect.
The suspect was deemed likely to flee the country or collude with witnesses, the office said, after prosecutors questioned the Taiwanese man surnamed Chen (陳) about the recent death of the 24-year-old Malaysian student.
The university student surnamed Chai (蔡) was found dead in her rented residence on Dadong Road in Shilin on Oct. 13, and she had injuries consistent with strangulation, according to police.
Chen, who was her boyfriend, was later arrested, and he confessed during questioning Monday that he had killed Chai at her home, police said.
He claimed it was an accident and said he had only intended to scare Chai after they had gotten into a fight over money matters, according to police.
After being questioned by Shilin police, Chen was handed over to prosecutors the same day as a murder suspect in Chai’s death.
Prosecutors subsequently filed a request with the Shilin District Court and obtained the order Tuesday to detain Chen and hold him incommunicado, the prosecutors’ office said.
Chai was a student at a Taipei university and had been working part-time as a model and as a live streamer on social entertainment platforms, police said.
She and Chen first became acquainted in April via Instagram, and they began dating on Oct. 8, according to police.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel