Washington, 31 July 1998
A female opposition politician from the southern Taiwanese port
city of Kaohsiung died, after being kidnapped and drugged while she
was accompanying her boyfriend on a business trip in northern China.
DPP Kaohsiung City Councilwoman Ms. Lin Ti-chuan, age 32, went to
Dalian City in the northeastern province of Liaoning on 27 July with
her boyfriend, Mr. Wei Tien-kang, who is an importer of magnesium
metallic ore.
Reportedly, the Chinese business contact in Dalian, a certain Lee
Kuongchih, and two of his associates armed with knives bound and
blindfolded Lin and Wei, and then injected them with an unknown
drug, apparently a sedative. They were then taken by car to Haicheng
City, an hour's drive from the industrial city of Anshan.
The kidnappers reportedly demanded a ransom of US$ 200,000 but
refused to allow Wei to use a telephone to try to raise the money.
Over the next two days, the couple received injections about once
every five hours. By July 29th, Ms. Lin had turned deadly pale and
was foaming at the mouth. The kidnappers then took her to a local
hospital, at which time Mr. Wei escaped. He went to the authorities
to report the case.
On July 31st, Mr. Wei was brought to a funeral parlor in Haicheng
City to identify his girlfriend's body.
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