Premier orders authorities to step up efforts in Tainan murder case

Taipei, July 9 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Tuesday said he has instructed the relevant authorities to step up their investigation into a murder that took place early Monday in which Tainan City Fisherman's Association Chairman Lin Shih-chieh (林士傑) was shot dead by an unidentified gunman.

The government considers the incident to be a "major emergency" and has ordered the Ministry of Justice and the National Policy Agency (NPA) to step up their efforts to identify the perpetrator so officials can inform the public progress is being made in the case as soon as possible, Cho told reporters before going into a legislative meeting.

Lin, 53, was shot multiple times and found unresponsive in front of his residence after police received a report about a shooting on Sinle Road in Tainan's South District at 5:45 a.m., according to the southern city's Fire Bureau.

Lin was officially pronounced dead at the Chi Mei Medical Center after efforts to resuscitate him failed, the bureau said, adding that his body has been transported to the South District Funeral Parlor.

Police found nine 11 bullet cartridges at the scene.

A computer tomography scan is underway at the Institute of Forensic Medicine's Kaohsiung branch to determine which were the fatal shots, after which Lin's body will undergo an autopsy in Tainan, prosecutors said.

According to police, the gunman fled the scene on foot before driving off in a vehicle through a nearby alley. The vehicle was later found abandoned in a parking lot, along with two pistols, having been set on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.

Lin was the father of Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Tainan City Councilor Lin Yi-ting (林依婷) and was appointed to head the Tainan Agricultural Marketing Co. by Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) after he was first elected to the post in 2018.

In March last year, Lin Shih-chieh was indicted for attempting to influence the 2022 Tainan City Council speaker election through intimidation. He was acquitted in the first trial at the Taiwan Tainan District Court in April, and a second trial on the case is currently underway.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the high-profile shooting, the NPA on Tuesday announced the launch of a nationwide crackdown on illicit possession of firearms and gang activities to prevent gang-related crimes and the recruitment of teenage gang members.