Judges in Taichung yesterday turned down a request by prosecutors to detain a man allegedly involved in the murder of a gangster in the city late last month.
Police believe that Su Kuan-yu (蘇寬裕), an associate of alleged gangster Yang Ding-jung (楊定融), was involved in the slaying of Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠) in his office on May 28.
Taichung District Court spokesman Chang Kuo-chung (張國忠) said prosecutors would file a new request, as Su is believed to have been the person who drove a vehicle stolen in Hsinchu to Taichung, where he allegedly gave the keys to an unidentified suspect who drove the gunman to Weng's office.
“Su had nothing to do with the vehicle on May 28, when the murder took place. Prosecutors and police did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that he has been in communication with other suspects in the case either,” Chang said. “Prosecutors and police will have to work harder on this.”
At press time, Yang, Chang Yu-hao (張育豪), the alleged teenage assassin Liao Kuo-hao (廖國豪) and Su were still considered suspects in the case. Yang, who was apprehended at Xiamen Airport and deported, was arrested on his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday and is now in detention. Chang, who was also arrested on Saturday, is believed to have been the driver who helped ditch the vehicle at Sun Moon Lake the day after the murder. He was released on NT$30,000 bail. Liao's whereabouts remain unknown.
The Taichung County Police Department, meanwhile, made public an audio clip of a conversation between a secret informant and police on June 15, dismissing accusations they were making no effort to locate the assassin.
“We did receive a call and officers arrived at the scene within seven minutes, but we did not see any 'suspicious man' there,” said Chang Chi-hsiang (張啟祥), deputy director of Taichung County Police Department's Taiping Precinct (太平分局).
The remarks were in reference to an unidentified woman who called a TV news channel's talk show on Sunday night to say that Liao had been seen visiting his grandparents' home in Taiping on June 15. The woman who saw him called the police but they failed to respond the caller said.
Taichung County Police contacted the caller, who told police she was not the woman who called police and that she had “heard” the story from someone else.
Chang Chi-hsiang said the woman who called the police on June 15 said she saw “a teenage man who was acting strangely” and hoped police would come as soon as possible.
The deputy said the woman did not identify the young man as Liao and could not clearly describe the man's features. The location she mentioned was not Liao's grandparents’ residence.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
Taiwan successfully defended its women’s 540 kilogram title and won its first-ever men’s 640 kg title at the 2026 World Indoor Tug of War Championships in Taipei yesterday. In the women’s event, Taiwan’s eight-person squad reached the final following a round-robin preliminary round and semifinals featuring teams from Ukraine, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, the Basque Country and South Korea. In the finals, they swept the Basque team 2-0, giving the team composed mainly of National Taiwan Normal University students and graduates its second championship in a row, and its fourth in five years. Team captain
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