Police in Pingtung yesterday arrested a 55-year-old man as the main suspect in the abduction and killing of a woman.
The 29-year-old woman, surnamed Tseng (曾), was reported missing by family members earlier on the same day, police said.
Police later connected her disappearance to a traffic incident on Thursday night, when a woman riding a scooter was hit by a vehicle and subsequently dragged into the vehicle by the driver, police said, citing eyewitness accounts.
The white vehicle drove off with the woman, who was apparently injured, police said.
With the help of video footage from the area of the incident, police identified the driver as Huang Tung-ming (黃東明) from Pingtung City, police said, adding that they later located him and held him for questioning.
However, Huang did not cooperate with prosecutors and did not give any information about the traffic incident or Tseng, police said.
During a search for the woman, police found Tseng’s mobile phone in an abandoned building close to Huang’s residence, where her body was found, police said, adding that more than 100 officers were deployed in the effort.
Huang’s residence was searched and his computer, mobile phone and other materials were seized, they said.
Huang was allegedly a customer of a mobile phone shop where Tseng worked, and he had been following her for about two months, police said, citing eyewitness accounts, and Tseng’s family and friends.
Tseng also reported to police that Huang allegedly harassed her several times, police said.
Huang allegedly visited her at work, touched her and refused to leave when told to do so, police said, citing Tseng’s report.
Investigators were preparing sexual harassment charges, police said.
Investigators believe that Huang waited until Tseng finished work on Thursday, intentionally crashed into her scooter, and abducted and killed her.
Police said that an autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of Tseng’s death and whether she had been sexually assaulted.
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