Taiwanese man suspected of murdering Thai girlfriend detained

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) A Taichung court has approved a request by prosecutors to formally detain a Taiwanese man suspected of killing his Thai girlfriend and storing her body in a freezer at his workplace.

At a bail hearing on Saturday, the Taichung District Court approved prosecutors' request to detain the 43-year-old suspect, surnamed Wu (吳), in light of the severity of the crime and the risk that he could flee or destroy evidence.

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office said it received a tip-off from police in Taipei's Wanhua District on Friday evening, and coordinated with police to arrest Wu later that night.

After gathering evidence, police and prosecutors found the 36-year-old woman's body during a search in Taichung, with initial results from the investigation indicating that she had been strangled to death.

In a statement Saturday, the Taipei Police Department's Wanhua Precinct said Taiwanese friends of the Thai woman reported her missing on Friday.

The woman had been staying in a hotel in Taipei's Ximending area after arriving in Taiwan on Sept. 2, but failed to return to Thailand as scheduled on Sept. 14.

After reviewing surveillance footage from near her hotel, police identified a man seen acting suspiciously as Wu.

Police said Wu was seen entering the hotel on Sept. 12 and was then seen leaving early the following morning carrying a large suitcase.

He placed the suitcase in the trunk of his car before driving to Taichung, where he worked in an administrative role at a technology company, police said.

The woman's body was later found in a small freezer at the company's offices.

Wu told police that he had become angry when his girlfriend asked to break up with him, but claimed he had killed her "accidentally" when things escalated into a physical altercation.

Local media reports that cited police sources claimed, however, that Wu had purchased the freezer and suitcase in early September, likely indicating premeditation.

Police said Wu met the woman while traveling in Thailand, and that the two had been in a relationship for about a year.