Taiwanese officer killed in shootout
A police officer was shot dead and two others were wounded yesterday during a gun battle with a kidnapping suspect in Taichung, in central Taiwan.
The 80-minute shootout started at 11.30am when the kidnappers went to collect a NT$5 million (HK$1.16 million) ransom, a police spokesman said.
After discovering police were waiting to arrest them, the suspects tried to flee on a motorcycle, but were knocked down by a police vehicle.
Huang Chun-chieh, 25, was arrested, but his accomplice, Su An-ming, 45, pulled out a pistol and began firing.
Police squad leader Lee Chin-fu, 38, was killed by a shot in the chest. Another officer, Yeh Hsi-tsai, 43, was shot in the temple and was in critical condition last night.
A third officer, Lin Wen-wu, was shot in the left arm when he tried to talk Su into surrendering.
Dozens more police officers arrived and the standoff ended when Su was riddled with 28 shots and died. The hostage, club owner Huang Yung-hsing, 45, was set free by a third kidnapper in Yunlin. He had been kidnapped on Tuesday.
