Taiwan heir to NT$500 million ruled dead by fall, family alleges police bungling

台灣5億台幣繼承人被判定墜樓身亡，家屬稱警方失職

Autopsy report finds death consistent with fall from 10th floor, no sign of poisoning


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 18-year-old heir to a NT$500 million (US$16.32 million) real estate fortune who died mysteriously hours after registering a single-sex marriage has been ruled dead from injuries associated with a fall from a 10-story residential building, according to Taichung District Prosecutors.

Prosecutors said forensic reports did not find any evidence of poisoning of the deceased individual, surnamed Lai (賴). Instead, it found death to be consistent with blunt force trauma and multiple organ ruptures, while an autopsy found no traces of alcohol or other poisons.

Responding to the prosecutors' report, Lai's mother alleged a bungled police investigation of the crime scene as the apartment of her son’s same-sex spouse, a man surnamed Chia (夏), was not sealed off, with frequent visits by individuals potentially associated with the case, per China Times.

A lawyer working on behalf of Lai's family, Hsu Zhe-wei (許哲維), claimed Chia's family members returned to the location three different times, potentially concealing or destroying evidence. Hsu further alleged that it took more than 30 hours to collect beer cans from the scene, which should be considered vital evidence.

Hsu said the fall occurred at 11:02 a.m. on May 4, with a police officer dispatched to the scene at 11:16 a.m. Investigators arrived on the scene, including the 10th floor residence, at noon, though they only did a cursory visual inspection and did not immediately collect evidence.

At 4 p.m. on May 4, fingerprints, footprints, and other evidence were collected. Later, another visit took place on the afternoon of May 5, after prosecutors began directing the investigation.

Hsu alleges police should have immediately sealed off the scene, preventing the spouse and his family members from entering and possibly affecting the forensic investigation.

Responding to these allegations, police said the first officers arrived at the scene at 11:16 a.m., and the forensic personnel arrived late at 11:45 a.m., but because there was no obvious evidence of a homicide, they did not immediately seal off the scene.

Due to a complaint by family members, forensic personnel went to the scene again to collect evidence that afternoon and then again the next day.

Lai's death was deemed suspicious because he registered a same-sex marriage earlier on May 4, later falling to his death from Chia's 10th floor residence.

Chia was later questioned by prosecutors and released on NT$300,000 (US$9,763) bail. Chia had confessed that he and Lai were drinking at home that day, and when he went to take a shower, Lai fell from the building.

Lai's mother has made allegations that her son may have been poisoned before this death, pointing to suspicious marks on her son’s neck and arm, though the autopsy report said the cause of death was consistent with a fall from a 10th floor apartment.