Taipei (Taiwan news)-- A man was killed after asking his ex girlfriend to give him back a watch valued at NT$10,000 (US$328) he had given her as a gift 3 months before.
According to the police investigation the night before the incident, Cheng Kai-hsuan (鄭凱軒), 34, called the suspect, Chen I-ju (陳逸如), 34, and told her, "I have something to give you, come out." When Cheng demanded the watch back, Chen replied,“I don't have it.”
This enraged Cheng, who began to beat Chen. Chen started to panic and as Cheng went out to pay for gas, she sped off with his car to escape. Cheng then hailed a taxi and started to chase her.
After Chen arrived in Taishan district, she parked the car and tried to call her boyfriend, surnamed Wu (吳), for help. But as she was distracted, Cheng entered the car holding a 30 cm knife. While she tried to escape from him, she allegedly grabbed the knife and delivered a mortal wound to his neck.
Chen told the police she did not intend to kill Cheng. Chen's lawyer, said that the fact that Cheng had suddenly burst into her car made her feel threatened.
Unless Chen is able to prove that she was under a violent attack and she acted in self-defense, she may be charged with homicide, and could face more than ten years in jail, life imprisonment or the death penalty.
As Cheng, Chen, and Wu all have records of drug offenses, police are not ruling out the possibility that the crime could have been drug related.