Fugitive duo lives the good life on the run

Two male fugitives, surnamed Chen and Hsieh, who had been hiding from police for more than a month, apparently still aspired to the good life even while at large. They prepared plenty of daily necessities for their “trip”, such as drinks and groceries, and even brought with them a washing machine and a small refrigerator.

Chen Shi-you, 45, with prior convictions for kidnapping, gun crimes and larceny, along with Hsieh Jian-wen, 26, had an argument with a man, surnamed Wang, Sep. 13. The argument ended with them shooting Wang's left calf and kidnapping him for two days, until Wang's family paid NT$850,000 in cash and provided a NT$3 million promissory note.

After more than one month investigation, Changhua police finally arrested the suspects yesterday on their way back to their shelter, situated in a mountainous area in Fushing Township, Taoyuen County, while returning from a shopping trip. The police shot at the men 12 times, targeting the right wheel of the suspects' SUV, before pulling them over with three squad cars and dozens of armed officers.

Police found a 9mm pistol, 15 rounds of bullets, a washing machine, small refrigerator, cabbages, pork, cookies, betel nuts, beers and plenty of canned food in the suspects' vehicle.

Chen and Hsieh had recently hidden in three townships in Nantou and Hsinchu after committing the crime, but it seemed no matter where they fled to, police quickly tracked them down. The pair was forced to constantly look for new places to conceal themselves, said police, adding that they had not returned to their home county, Taoyuan, until the end of October. It was there that Chen and Hsieh had brought their groceries and gun, “preparing to fight a long-term war.” The police caught them on their way back from their grocery shopping, having run out of supplies during the previous week's hiding. They picked up a washing machine on this last shopping trip because for them, “washing clothes is extremely inconvenient in mountains.”

Subscribe to The China Post and save 25%. Click here

SharePrintEmail

Write a Comment

Terms

Enter your comments - 3000 characters max

Type in image code

Submit

 Receive China Post promos
 Respond to this email