Janitor arrested for murder of NCKU grad student in southern Taiwan

南臺灣清潔工謀殺成大研究生遭警方逮捕

Janitor arrested for the suspected murder of female NCKU graduate student in Taiwan's Tainan City


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Tainan police this morning arrested a janitor on suspicion of murdering a 24-year-old female National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) student yesterday, reported UDN.

At 6 a.m. this morning, police arrested a 42-year-old male custodian surnamed Lin (林) in Tainan's Rende District for the alleged murder of a NCKU graduate student surnamed Chen yesterday (Oct. 28). Police said that Lin frequented the scene of the crime and was familiar with the victim, but the two were not intimately involved.

Though yesterday was a weekend, Chen and other graduate students spent the afternoon studying and discussing in the graduate student office on the fourth floor of the university's Academy of Social Sciences. However, because she left the room for a break, but did not return by nightfall, classmates went to search for her.

At 8:53 p.m. last night, a female classmate found her body in a consultation room on the second floor of the building. When police arrived on the scene, they found the room was in shambles, and Chen was lying face down under the sofa with a rag stuffed in her mouth.


Police seal off crime scene. (CNA image)

Police said that because there were signs of a struggle and abrasions were found on Chen's neck, they deemed the case to be a homicide. Police sealed off the area and collected evidence in the consultation room and bathroom.

After gathering evidence, police transferred Chen's body to the coroner's office at 2 a.m. and scheduled an autopsy for 9 a.m. this morning.

After reviewing surveillance camera footage in the building, they found that Lin had taken the elevator in the building with Chen from the fourth floor to the second floor of the building at noon that day. Lin was then seen leaving the main entrance of the building at 1 p.m.

Police identified Lin as the prime suspect in Chen's murder and waited for him to return to his home in Rende District, where they arrested him early this morning.