‘Dragon hunt’ moves to new ground after no results in manhunt

The search parties covered a dozen spots that could have been used by kidnapper and fugitive Chang Shih-ming and one of his followers after they fled to Tungshan mountains. However, no trace of the duo was found and the operation was called off yesterday evening.

The new operation today will focus on Kuantzeling, a popular scenic spot, in the Baiho mountainous area, according to police sources.

Prosecutors and police have completed questioning two of Chang’s accomplices who were arrested after a heavy exchange of fire between the group of five and police in Kaohsiung County early Monday morning.

The two have confessed to certain abductions the group led by Chang had carried out in the past months. Lin Kuo-chung, one of the detainees, said the estimated NT$7 million confiscated by the police in their hideout in Kaohsiung was part of the ransom collected following their kidnapping of the owner of a bus company’s son.

The cache of weapons and ammunition recovered by the police was only recently smuggled from abroad.

He also revealed the group had mapped out a plan for another hit in the near future.

Lin told police Chang conducted regular mountain climbing training programs for his men to enhance their physical stamina and to test their loyalty. Each training session could last for a couple of weeks or one full month in the mountains.

Before each kidnapping, each of the people taking part in the hit received one rifle, two pistols, and around 1,000 rounds of bullets, Lin said.

Chang and his followers could still be carrying 10 rifles and pistols after they eluded a strong police force and fled into the mountains.

But some senior police officers cast doubts that Chang is the real leader of the ring. They believe there are others orchestrating the series of abductions from behind the scenes.

Police have zeroed in on four of the underworld leaders in central and southern Taiwan for possible involvement.

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The police officers dismissed criticism for their failure to use helicopters to help track down the two fugitives in the “Dragon Hunting Project.”

One of them explained that Chang’s high-power M16 or AK-47 rifles could easily have hit the chopper and it was not worth the risk to the lives of pilot and the airborne police.

He also said the police did not formally seek assistance from the military to send armored vehicles when raiding the group’s hideout in Kaohsiung.

Top officers said they had made the decision to use the police force in the assault rather than soliciting military assistance, which could have further complicated the whole operation.

As for the criticism that hundreds of police officers could not round up all of the five kidnappers, a police officer acknowledged there was still much room for improvement.

He said the whole assault and search operation would be thoroughly reviewed to improve future operations.

In spite of the failure to track down the two runaways in the mountain regions, the searches in the past two days could still serve as a training opportunity for the police, he added.

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