bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Lawrence Chung

A Taiwanese man killed two of his children in his Taipei flat yesterday before committing suicide in a tragedy that has shocked the Taiwanese public.
The man, 46, identified only by his last name Chang, drugged his 12-year-old son and two daughters, also minors, before slashing their throats, police said.
The eldest daughter, 16, survived, police said, adding the son and a 13-year-old daughter were found dead on the same bed, with a blanket covering them.
The eldest daughter, who awoke from her drugged sleep due to the pain from her wounds, sought help from her uncle through the messaging app Line, police said.
The uncle immediately called police and rushed to the scene, only to find the father and the other two children were dead.
Grandfather, 68, jumps to death holding baby grandson in Hong Kong murder-suicide
“We rushed the daughter to hospital for emergency treatment,” police officer Hsieh Chi-hsin said.
“Because of her wounds she was not able to talk but could only communicate with us using her smartphone.”
Police said the man was unemployed and had serious financial problems. He left a suicide note in which he called his former wife names, police said.
Police also found a knife suspected to have been used by the man to slay his children.
Local news media reported that in the note, Chang accused his former wife of having affairs, saying: “You want freedom, I’ll give you freedom and take the three children with me [to death].”
He also wrote he had found life miserable after losing several million Taiwan dollars in stock investments, as well as his job before Lunar New Year, the reports said.
A neighbour of Chang’s told police she heard two screams around noon that sounded like they were from a female, but heard nothing more after that.
The neighbour said she thought it could have been a fight among the children, but never expected it was murder.
Media reports also quoted police as saying that in the hospital, through text messages, the surviving daughter, a junior high school student, said her father told her on Saturday he “would take them along” with him, but she was not aware he meant he wanted to take their lives.
Doctors said the 16-year-old was unable to speak but her condition was listed as stable and not life threatening.
“Fortunately, the cut was not deep and it did not damage her artery,” said a doctor of the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, adding that the daughter was deeply traumatised by her ordeal.
He said the teenage girl would need professional counselling after she was discharged from hospital.
Local news media said the mother was on her way back to Taipei from Hualien, eastern Taiwan, where she had been living since her divorce.
The family had no previous reports of child abuse, the United Daily News reported.


Photo suggesting US major general joined Taiwanese tabletop drills triggers debate

Hong Kong utility CLP’s 2024 profit surges 76% on strong performance in Australia

Why wealthy individuals prefer Hong Kong insurance policies for inheritances

PLA steps up Taiwan military patrols over Lunar New Year holiday

Taiwan

Taipei father kills young daughter and son before taking own life

Police investigate the scene where a man killed two of his three children in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Handout

News

China

People & Culture

Eldest daughter, 16, survives despite being drugged and having her throat slashed, and raises alarm
