The seedy side of Taiwan: Murder, kidnapping and … online computer games

Police injured and captured yesterday heavily armed fugitive Chang Hsi-ming whom they had been tracking for more than a year after he exposed his whereabouts by sending messages on the Internet and playing online computer games. One of his followers was also picked up following a shootout in central Taiwan.

Chang, wanted for murder, multiple kidnappings, and illegal possession of weapons, was found via his Internet protocol address after police found out he often played games online.

After pinpointing the latest hideout of the elusive Chang at Shalu of Taichung County three days earlier, Commissioner Hou Yu-ih of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) personally led the siege against Chang’s newly rented apartment in central Taiwan, with more than 130 police and two armored vehicles as he was known to be armed with assault rifles and hand grenades.

In the West, there is an ongoing debate about whether playing violent online games turns kids into future criminals. In Taiwan, the debate is how to catch the violent criminals playing online games.