Tech firm boss held incommunicado over fatal stabbing of employee

Taipei, March 18 (CNA) The owner of a Taipei-based tech company is being held incommunicado over the fatal stabbing of an employee.

The Taiwan Taipei District Court approved a request by Taipei prosecutors on Tuesday to detain Tseng, 52, citing concerns that he might collude with others or destroy evidence, the court said.

According to a preliminary police investigation, Tseng is believed to have fatally stabbed Yun Yun's chief technology officer, surnamed Liang (梁), during a meeting with the firm's human resources manager on March 7 to discuss Liang's resignation.

Tseng allegedly stabbed Liang in the neck repeatedly before attempting to take his own life, police said.

Tseng, who was hospitalized following the incident, was questioned by police and the Taipei Prosecutors' Office after being discharged on Monday.

Sources familiar with the case allege that Tseng admitted to planning the attack as well as purchasing the murder weapon in late February after a series of disputes with Liang.

According to the sources, Tseng claimed he was driven by rumors that Liang had leaked the company secrets to a third party and was planning to start a competing business.

The Taipei City Labor Inspection Office has ordered the company to implement precautionary measures against workplace violence within a month or be fined NT$30,000 (US$910) to NT$150,000.

Under Taiwan's Criminal Code, those convicted of murder face a minimum prison term of 10 years and, in severe cases, the death penalty.