TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Beitou man on Sunday murdered two of his children while severely injuring another before taking his own life, authorities said.
The man was only identified by his surname Chang, and is reportedly 46 years old.
Chang stabbed his daughter and son, aged 12 and 13, before taking his own life.
A neighbour claimed that she heard the screams of one or two girls around noon yesterday.
The neighbour told reporters that as the incident happened around lunch on a weekend, but the screams were though to be children fooling around, since the screams were only heard twice.
The sole surviving victim, the eldest of the culprit’s children, typed a message seeking help from her uncle who lived closed by.
The case was brought to the attention of the Guandu division of the Beitou Police Precinct when the uncle arrived at the scene of the crime and notified authorities.
The victim sent a message via mobile application “Line” instead of making a call because she was unable to speak due to a 9 centimeter knife wound on her neck.
The girl, age 16, was sent to the Taipei Veterans General Hospital (臺北榮民總醫院) for treatment.
After her situation stabilized, the victim recounted the incident to the police using her phone and stated that her father had cryptically told her “I’d like to take you all along,” on Saturday evening.
The victim said she now understood that her father had premeditated the incident, and that she had passed out after sustaining the attack of her father.
When she regained consciousness, she immediately messaged her uncle for help, the victim added.
The hospital also reported that while the victim was physically stable, she sustained significant emotional trauma as a result of the tragedy.
Suspected Affair
According to Beitou police, a suicide letter that was left at the crime scene indicated that the murder was triggered as a result of stress brought by a combination of financial difficulty and suspected infidelity.
Chang wrote that he had lost his job, had made some bad investments and suspected that the children’s mother was having an extramarital affair.
The mother of the victims reportedly returned to Taipei from Hualien after she was notified of the incident. In his suicide letter, Chang was said to have written “I will give you the freedom which you ask for; I am taking our children.”
‘No signs of trouble’
Other neighbours said that the family had been renting at the area with their children for the last three years.
The neighbours added that the Changs always seemed happy and showed no signs of trouble, and were often seen taking family trips together.
