TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A South Korean man was ordered detained by Kaohsiung District Court in light of new evidence gathered by prosecutors further indicating that he may have murdered his girlfriend while they were traveling in southern Taiwan last month.
A 31-year-old Korean woman surnamed Lee (李) was found dead in a Kaohsiung hotel on April 24 and her 32-year-old boyfriend Kim (金) was detained by police but released on NT$100,000 (US$3,250) bail on April 28, while being barred from leaving the country. However, as new evidence has surfaced, such as the discovery of an injury to the back of Lee's head caused by a liquor bottle and Lee's previous claims of domestic abuse, the court on Thursday evening (May 4) approved prosecutors' request to place Kim back in detention to be investigated for homicide (殺人罪), reported CNA.
The forensic autopsy found that Lee had suffered blunt force trauma to the back of her head. Although police did not find an object that fit that description at the scene, they suspect that it was a Kaoliang liquor bottle that the two had drunk from the night before Lee died.
When Kim was questioned by police, he said that the couple had a good relationship, and he claimed that Lee had accidentally fallen and injured herself. He denied assaulting her, but the investigators found that Lee had complained to her South Korean friends about long-term physical abuse.
The case started when Lee and Kim arrived in Taiwan on April 22 and stayed at a business hotel in Kaohsiung City's Qianjin District. The two did not go out again after returning to their room on April 24.
On the morning of April 25, Kim notified the hotel staff that Lee was not breathing and asked for assistance. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but doctors were unable to resuscitate her and she was soon declared dead at 2 p.m. that afternoon.
Forensic examiners found that Lee had bruises on her head and limbs and suspected foul play. An autopsy conducted on April 27 found that there were scars on her head, severe trauma to her left brain, intracranial hemorrhaging caused by an impact injury, and bruising on her right hand.
Forensic pathologists suspect that Lee was hit by a blunt object or slammed into a wall. Based on this evidence, the direction of the investigation was shifted to homicide.
