TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following the brutal murder of a couple in front of their young children early Friday morning (Sept. 15) in the Lingya District of Kaohsiung City, a suspect has been apprehended by police.
The victim's neighbor, a 63-year-old man named Wu (吳), is believed to have entered their house armed with a knife and fatally attacked two members of the Luo (羅) family. He was apprehended while attempting to escape to Pingtung County.
After witnessing the murder of their parents, the two boys aged 6 and 7, managed to escape unharmed and sought help. An apartment management committee member reported the incident to the police.
The children are reported to have told the management team, "Our mom and dad have been murdered. It was the man on the 13th floor", reported Yahoo.
The married couple, a woman aged 36 and a man aged 35, lived on the 14th floor of a building on Wumiao Road in Lingya District. The incident is believed to have been triggered by repeated noise-complaint disputes between the Luo family and Wu on the 13th floor.
The problem came to a head when Wu went upstairs to confront the Luo family. After the fatal assault, Wu fled the scene.
Police and firefighters rushed to the scene and found the couple's lifeless bodies in their apartment. Mrs. Luo was found lying on her back with large abdominal wounds, while Mr. Luo had a knife wound to his chest.
The police investigation revealed that Wu fled the crime scene on a motorcycle toward Fengshan and Daliao, heading south. The task force apprehended him on Linbian Linhai Road in Pingtung.
He confessed to the crime and admitted to discarding the murder weapon and bloodied clothing. Wu is a retired employee of an auto repair shop.
The Luo murder comes after a violent attack that also took place in the Lingya District on Wednesday (Sept. 13). A woman, surnamed Wu (吳), was attacked with a fruit knife by her ex-boyfriend and was stabbed 30 times.
Speaking to journalists about the fruit knife stabbing incident on Thursday (Sept. 14), Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said police solved the case within 15 hours. Chen added that Kaohsiung’s major criminal and violent crime case rates are the second-lowest of Taiwan’s six major cities.
During a government public safety meeting on Aug. 23, Chen told participants that “Kaohsiung has excellent public safety."
