TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- The Taipei City government announced yesterday (June 19) that it has suspended all activities at the Huashan Grassland (華山大草原) and will prohibit personnel from entering as it conducts an investigation into the brutal murder and dismemberment of a woman by her archery instructor, who was taken into custody yesterday, reported Liberty Times.
A 37-year-old archery teacher surnamed Chen (陳) recently rented out a space that he called Yejucaotang (野居草堂) at the Huashan Grassland in Taipei to hold classes there. On May 31, after a class had ended at the studio, Chen, a 30-year-old female student surnamed Kao (高), and other students gathered to have drinks at the venue late that evening.
After the others had left, Chen claims that Kao had become drunk after only having consumed two beers and went back with him to his cabin to lie down. However, police suspect that Chen either added Kaoliang wine to her beers or spiked them with drugs to make her more compliant, reported Liberty Times.
Once Chen took Kao to his cabin, he tried to make a sexual advance towards her, but she rejected him. Angered by her rejection, Chen later admitted to police that he waited until she dozed off to strangle her to death, reported Apple Daily. After killing Kao, Chen initially kept her body in the cabin, but as the stench started to build, on June 3 he took a 15-centimeter fish fillet knife, cut her body into seven pieces and placed them in plastic bags.
Chen posing with his bow. (Image from Chen's Facebook page)
During questioning on June 17, he told police that on June 4 he loaded the bags on a scooter and hid them on Yangminshan in New Taipei.
Having not taken her cell phone with her that night, family members became worried when she failed to return home. On June 1, her family members reported her missing to the New Taipei City police and on June 3 they also reported that she was missing to the Taipei City police.
Photo of Kao. (Image from Kao's Facebook page)
On June 7, her relatives and friends posted a missing persons announcement on the popular online bulletin board PTT, including her last known sighting captured on surveillance footage showing her walk toward the creative park on May 31.
After an extensive search of Yangmingshan, police were finally able to recover all seven bags containing her body parts by 6 p.m. on June 18, reported CNA.
Also on June 18, Chen was taken into police custody at 10 p.m. on charges of murder after he admitted to the crime.
The grasslands are owned by the Judicial Yuan but are leased by the Taipei Urban Regeneration Office. The Office said in order to reinvigorate the area, it had leased the land from Nov. to June 30 for use by a collective of artists called Unregulated Masses (野青眾).
The collective created a village for artists called 120 Grassroots (120草原自治區) in November of last year and Chen's studio was part of the village.