30-year-old woman arrested in fatal stabbing of husband in Chiayi

Taipei, Aug. 6 (CNA) A 30-year-old woman was arrested Wednesday, after her husband was found at their home in Chiayi County with multiple stab wounds and later died in hospital, local authorities said.

Local police identified the deceased as a 36-year-old deliveryman surnamed Chuang (莊).

Following an emergency call at 1 a.m. Wednesday, police said, they went to Chuang's home in Shuishang Township, where he was found with multiple stab wounds. He was rushed to hospital but later died, police said.

Chuang's 30-year-old wife surnamed Huang (黃) was in the same room with her husband when the police arrived at the couple's home, and she was later arrested, police said.

Chuang and Huang were in a room on the third floor of the building, while their three sons, aged 7, 5 and 2, were with relatives on the first floor, when police arrived, the Shuishang Precinct said.

A knife, believed to be the murder weapon, was found on the first floor, police said.

Chiayi District Prosecutors Office said that it has scheduled an autopsy for Chuang on Friday to establish the cause of death. Doctors at the hospital stitched up the stab wounds as part of their efforts to save his life, but that made it difficult to establish the cause of death, the office said in a statement.

The couple had been arguing over money, police said, adding that Huang had stopped working after the birth of their youngest son, and Chuang had been the sole bread winner for the past two years.

Chuang and Huang had previously filed domestic abuse reports against each other, which resulted in the family being placed on a watch list in 2019, police said.

In the fatal incident, Huang is believed to have stabbed Chuang after an argument, police said.

Following an evaluation by the county's Social Affairs Bureau, it was decided that the couple's 2-year-old son will be placed with relatives, while the care of the other two boys will be determined by local government authorities, according to police.