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A 24-year-old Malaysian student was found dead last Thursday, 13 October, believed to have been strangled to death in her rented apartment on Dadong Road in Shilin, Taipei
According to Focus Taiwan, Shilin precinct police said the student, surnamed Tsai, had injuries that were consistent with strangulation.
The Taipei police said Tsai’s death was reported to the authorities at about 6pm on Thursday, after her Taiwanese boyfriend, a man named Chen, was rushed to a local hospital following an overdose of over-the-counter drugs in what police believe was a suicide attempt.
According to local media reports, it was Chen who informed the police of Tsai’s death, followed by his confession of killing her, before falling unconscious.
He is currently in intensive care.
A screenshot of Tsai’s Instagram page.
Image via Taiwan News
Tsai was a fifth-year exchange student at Ming Chuan University, studying in its department of advertising and strategic marketing
However, Taiwan News reported that the 24-year-old had recently suspended her studies.
She was working as a part-time model with over 1,000 followers on Instagram and as a livestreamer on the locally-popular social entertainment platform, 17LIVE.
According to initial police investigations, Tsai had met 30-year-old Chen through Instagram about five or six days prior to the suspected murder.
Police found closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that showed Chen entering Tsai’s apartment on Wednesday, 12 October, and leaving approximately 24 hours later on Thursday.
Tsai was not at all seen outside her apartment during this time.
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage showing Chen leaving Tsai’s apartment on Thursday, 13 October.
Image via Taiwan News
Taipei police said investigations are still ongoing and autopsy results to determine the exact cause of the student’s death are still pending
The police are also waiting to question Chen when he regains full consciousness, and are not ruling out that he may only be an online fan of Tsai’s.
Sin Chew Daily reported that Tsai’s family, from Serdang, Selangor, is currently in Taipei to arrange her funeral. The model’s father has urged law enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough investigation into his daughter’s death so that justice could be served.
Meanwhile, according to Taiwan News, the Federation of Alumni Associations of Taiwan Universities has urged related Taiwanese government agencies to look into the matter seriously and make reparations with the family of the student.
The association said the repeated murders of Malaysian female students in Taiwan will have a psychological impact on Malaysian students preparing to study in the country, as well as those who are already there.