The Nantou District Court granted a request by prosecutors late Friday to detain the suspected gunman in a mass shooting at a biotechnology firm in the county the previous day and to hold him incommunicado, citing the severity of his crimes and the risk of him fleeing Taiwan.
The suspect, identified as Lee Hung-yuan (???), was arrested Friday at a massage parlor in the neighboring city of Taichung and could face charges of murder and possession of illegal firearms, in connection with the shooting of five people at Kang Jiann Biotech Co. in Nantou’s Caotun Township, four of which were fatal.
The company’s Chairman Lai Min-nan (???) survived the attack but was severely injured, according to police, who said all five victims had been shot at close range.
Lai’s daughter and brother, in their 40s and 70s, respectively, were killed, as well as two company employees surnamed Liu (?) and Chang (?), police said.
During Lee’s arrest Friday, police said, they searched the massage parlor where he was holed up and found three modified pistols, 179 rounds of ammunition, and a detachable silencer.
At a press conference held Friday after Lee’s arrest, National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Huang Ming-chao (???) confirmed that Lee was a former employee of Kang Jiann Biotech.
The NPA’s preliminary investigations had found that the suspect had an unstable job history and no military background, Huang said, without elaborating.
According to a document issued by the Taichung branch of the Taiwan High Court, Lee was employed by Kang Jiann Biotech from September 2012 to October 2013 as a production staff member.
During his time there, he often had rows with a female section chief surnamed Hung (?) over problems about operating machinery, the document showed. In February 2014, Lee allegedly accosted Hung outside the company’s premises and beat her over the head with a metal rod, while reportedly shouting that he wanted her dead, the document said.
Later that year, Lee was charged with attempted murder, but he was found not guilty in the Nantou District Court as he was able to present a convincing alibi.
During the court hearing, Lai Min-nan, Liu, and Chang gave witnesses testimony that corroborated Hung’s account of Lee’s alleged attack on her.
On Friday, when Lee was arrested as the suspect in the shooting at Kang Jiann Biotech, he turned to the TV cameras and shouted to reporters, “I killed for revenge,” as he was being escorted in handcuffs by police from the massage parlor.
Following Lee’s arrest, prosecutors questioned an employee at the massage parlor on suspicion of helping to hide the murder suspect.
The employee was later released on bail of NT$50,000, prosecutors told CNA on Saturday.
Following Friday’s court decision, Lee has been detained, as he is considered high risk for fleeing the country, and he is being held incommunicado, according to prosecutors.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel