A man suspected of killing two police officers in Tainan Monday went on the run for 17 hours, during which time he robbed a store and took multiple types of transport in an effort to evade police before being arrested after getting off a coach in Hsinchu early Tuesday, police said.

Lin Hsin-wu (???) fled the cemetery where he allegedly killed police officers Tu Ming-cheng (???), 36, and Tsao Jui-chieh (???), 27, at around noon Monday, the police said.

The 46-year-old suspect rode away from the scene on a stolen scooter before hailing a taxi. He then took a bus and another taxi to Tainan train station, from where he took a northbound train to Xinying District in the city, according to police.

Lin got off the train in Xinying, where he stole another scooter and rode to a convenience store, which he robbed, making away with NT$7,000 (US$231). He then called a taxi to take him south to Kaohsiung, from where he took a coach to Hsinchu in northern Taiwan, police said.

Tainan City Police Chief Fang Yang-ning (???) described the suspect as “cunning” when discussing the details of the nationwide manhunt for Lin at a press conference, citing CCTV footage that recorded his movements.

Lin was arrested at 4:36 a.m. Tuesday after disembarking from a coach at Hsinchu coach station, after 17 hours on the run. He was found to have the deceased police officer’s firearm and 18 bullets in his possession, the police said.

Lin was taken into custody by police officers lying in wait for him, with dozens of others also present to assist the arrest, footage provided by the coach company showed.

The arrest involved 68 police officers, some of whom followed the coach all the way from Kaohsiung in five police vehicles, Lin Hung-sheng (???), who heads of the Criminal Investigation Corps of Tainan City Police Department, said.

Lin was then taken back to Tainan by Tainan police for questioning.

The police have yet to provide full details as to how Tu, who was armed and had 24 bullets, and unarmed Tsao were killed as they searched for an unknown individual who had reportedly stolen a scooter.

Tu and Tsao were found by another police officer later Monday in pools of blood with no vital signs. They were rushed to hospital but pronounced dead after 40 minute of medical treatment, according to the police.

The autopsy performed Tuesday found that Tu was stabbed 17 times, with severe injuries to his left common carotid artery, the veins in his neck and a deep stab wound in his chest that punctured a lung, prosecutors said.

Tsao was stabbed 38 times, with serious wounds in his chest, prosecutors said.

During questioning, Lin claimed that Tu forcibly tried to subdue him as he was drinking alcohol at the cemetery and sprayed pepper spray in his eyes — after he refused to put down the knife he was carrying — and fired a warning shot, Fang said at Tuesday’s press conference.

The suspect claimed that the effects of the pepper spray and warning shot sent him into a blind rage, at which point he stabbed Tu, Fang said, adding that the police consider his account to be self-serving and full of holes.

According to the police, Tu was driven by Tsao, who was unarmed that day because he was on traffic inspection related duties, as they searched for the stolen scooter.

When they arrived at the cemetery, Tu got out of the vehicle to search for the suspected scooter thief while Tsao drove around the area, but when he arrived back on the scene, he found Tu laying motionless on the ground, according to the police.

The police have said Tsao’s vehicle was shot four times by Lin using the gun he took from Tu and he then stabbed Tsao to death, without providing more details.

A total of six bullet casings were found at the scene, the police said.

The police further confirmed that Lin is a fugitive who was in the process of serving an eight year and four month sentence for theft and robbery offenses committed in 2019 at Mingde Minimum-Security Prison in Tainan, where inmates are entitled to take temporary leave for family visits every three months.

Speaking to CNA Tuesday, Chiang Chen-hen (???), deputy warden of the prison, said Lin was granted leave from the prison to visit his family at 2:00 p.m. Aug. 13 and was supposed to return to the prison at 2:00 p.m. Aug. 15.

According to Chiang, Lin started to serve his sentence in August 2020 and was transferred to Mingde prison in December last year after his application for a transfer was granted because he had demonstrated good behavior at a previous prison.

After Lin failed to return to the prison on time, the prison office contacted his family and was told they could not reach him either, Chiang said.

The office then notified the Agency of Corrections under the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) that Lin had absconded and referred the case to prosecutors, while alerting the police to be on the look out for him, Chiang added.

In responding to criticism as to why no arrest warrant was issued for Lin after he absconded from prison, prosecutors said that suspects like Lin are subject to arrest by the police whether they are on a wanted list or not.

Meanwhile, speaking to the media Tuesday, Agency of Corrections Director Huang Chun-tang (???) said the mechanism by which inmates are allowed to transfer to a minimum-security prison is meant to help them repent.

“We will deeply reflect on this incident to find out what went wrong with existing corrective measures and address related issues,” he said.

Late Tuesday night, Tainan prosecutors said they have applied to the district court to detain Lin on suspicion of committing serious crimes and to prevent him from fleeing justice.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel