TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After being on the run for 17 years in China, a man accused of murder returned to Taiwan and turned himself in on Tuesday (Feb. 14).

ETToday reported that the 42-year-old man surnamed Yu (余) was allegedly involved in a shootout in Kaohsiung, which resulted in a death of a woman surnamed Chang (張). Yu, then 25, was a member of a local gang that had a grudge against Chang and her boyfriend.

During a shootout in Dashe District (then Dashe Township), Chang suffered a gunshot wound to the head and died. Yu and another man surnamed Hung (洪) were accused of murdering her.

Yu and Hung fled to China following the incident. Meanwhile, the National Police Agency cracked down on gangs in Taiwan, and Yu’s gang was raided, during which the police seized the firearms used in the shooting and arrested 10 people, including the gang’s leader and members.

By 2023, eight people out of the 10 arrested during the raid finished serving their sentences, which ranged from three to 14 years. However, Yu and Hung remained wanted and on the run in China.

On Tuesday, Yu turned himself in, claiming that he decided to do so considering that his parents are getting old. Moreover, others involved in the case had finished serving their sentences while he still lived an unstable, wandering life, which he was tired of.

After interrogating Yu, the police turned him over to prosecutors for further questioning. Considering the severity of his alleged crime and his history of fleeing, the court has approved of prosecutors’ request to detain him incommunicado.