TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Investigators have determined the suspect behind the alleged strangling of a Malaysian student previously committed a hit-and-run on a cyclist and changed his name, after his Facebook activities were unearthed.
On Oct. 13, a 30-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) was suspected of murdering a 24-year-old Malaysian student surnamed Tsai (蔡), who studied at Ming Chuan University and worked as a social media streamer and model. After the alleged murder, Chen overdosed on over-the-counter medication and confessed to first responders that he had strangled a woman on Dadong Road in Taipei City's Shilin District.
Chen then lost consciousness and was hospitalized for four days. When he was discharged from the hospital on Monday (Oct. 17), police took Chen in for questioning and Shilin District Court ruled that he should be placed in custody.
During an investigation by prosecutors, they discovered that he had changed his name. His original name was Chen Wei-yuan (陳巍元). He had graduated from college, and he has a younger sister, reported SET News.
Chen moved to northern Taiwan where he worked as a manual laborer and eventually rented an apartment in New Taipei City's Yingge District. On Sept. 22, 2012, he hit and injured a cyclist while driving a pickup truck and fled the scene.
Chen selfie posted on social media. (Facebook photo)
When Nantou County police were able to track him down, he claimed that he did not see or hear his vehicle colliding with the bicycle and was unaware he had struck someone. The prosecution accepted his explanation and decided to drop the charges.
After the suspicious death of Tsai, investigators found Chen's Facebook page and found that he claimed to be a "Taiwanese construction engineer." On his page, Chen frequently shared images of Buddhist scriptures and videos of sermons by Buddhist masters such as Chin Kung (釋淨空), whose recent death he mourned in a post.
When questioned by police, Chen originally claimed that it was Tsai who begged him to help her commit suicide. However, he later changed his account and said that during a heated argument with her over money, he had placed a pillow over her face to frighten her and "accidentally suffocated" Tsai to death.
Police did not find any record of police or firefighters being notified of any person being on suicide watch at the apartment where Tsai lived. When Tsai's body was examined, investigators found abrasions and bruises on her neck, with no signs of self-inflicted injuries.
