Killer releases 2 hostages

Chen, wanted for a celebrity kidnap-murder that shocked Taiwan, broke into the family’s home yesterday, shooting Diplomat Colonel E G Mac Alexander and his other daugher Melanie, 22.

The colonel and Melanie were freed and taken to hospital but Chen kept his other three hostages and said they would only be freed if prosecutors meet his demand that his wife, brother-in-law and a friend were cleared of their alleged involvement in the kidnapping case.

The baby, identified as Zachary by the South African Embassy, was released after a top police officer and the kidnapper’s wife entered the house with food earlier today.

Hundreds of policemen had surrounded the home in northern Taipei and engaged in a brief shootout with Chen Chin-Hsing.

Colonel Alexander, the South African military attache, and his 22-year-old daughter Melanie, were brought out of the house after apparently being wounded by a stray bullet.

Alexander was injured in the right leg, his daughter in the wrist and hip, during the shootout. Doctors at Yang Ming General Hospital said both were in stable condition.

As politicians and lawyers tried to persuade him to surrender, Chen talked through the night on live television, admitting to a string of grisly crimes but insisting that his family had no role in the violence.

He said he would release the hostages after receiving guarantee that his wife and brother-in-law, who have been sentenced as accomplices, would not be prosecuted. Then he planned to commit suicide.

Speaking on a telephone to Taiwan television, Chen said he came into the home planning not to live.

He made no threats against the hostages, but warned police not to use force. Speaking calmly for more two hours live on the air, Chen admitted to his part in the kidnapping of Pai Hsiao-Yen, the 17-year-old daughter of one of Taiwan’s most popular entertainers, in April.

But he denied killing Pai, and insisted repeatedly on the innocence of his wife, Chang Shu-Chen, and brother-in-law, in the crime.

Chen also admitted to breaking into homes around Taipei and raping several women, as well as helping kill the doctor and two nurses. Earlier, Alexander’s wife Anne told the station the situation was “calm and peaceful” in the house.

She earlier called an English-language newspaper, saying a heavily armed man had broken into the house. Alexander had lived in Taipei for two years, South Africa’s Foreign Ministry said.Roy Wu, Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Taiwan apologized to South Africa and will make the hostages’ safety its top priority.