Pai Hsiao-yen

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Pai Hsiao-yen

Pai Hsiao-yen (白暁燕, 白曉燕, Hanyu Pinyin: Bái Xiăoyàn, June 23, 1980 - April, 1997) was the only daughter of popular Taiwanese TV host and actress Pai Ping-ping and Japanese author Ikki Kajiwara.

[edit] Abduction, murder, and island-wide manhunt

Pai was missing after leaving for her school, Hsing Wu High School ^[1], on the morning of April 14, 1997. Her family received ransom request of $5,000,000 United States dollars along with her finger and a photograph of half-naked Pai. The police established special project "0414" on the night of April 14 to handle the incident.

Press in Taiwan first reported the incident on April 23, 1997. However, after the abductors negotiated with the police for 11 days and changed the locations of payment more than 20 times, the police finally decoded the communication methods used by the abductors. In the subsequent police raid, one suspect was arrested while two other escaped after a serious gun fight with the police.

Pai's deformed body was found on April 25, 1997. The photograph of her naked dead body was leaked to the mass media, including the China Times which printed it. In consequence to this, people in Taiwan protested against the mass media. Twelve accessories were arrested, but three main criminals, Chen Chin-hsing, Lin Chuen-sheng, and Kao Tien-min escaped. An island-wide manhunt began and police were ordered to shoot the suspects without warning if they show any sign of resistance, which was contrary to standard police practice.

On August 19, the trio was spotted by two foot-patrol police officers in a residential neighborhood. A brief exchange of fire ensued and Lin turned the gun on himself after he was shot six times; one of the officers was killed and the other one wounded. More than 800 police officers were immediately sent to the neighborhood, but Chen and Kao escaped.

On October 23, the two remaining suspects shot and killed a plastic surgeon, his wife, and a nurse after forcing them to perform plastic surgery on them. A few days later, Kao was spotted by the police and shot himself when police attempted to arrest him on November 17.

The last criminal, Chen Chin-hsing, took the family of a South African military attaché hostages at their residence on November 18, but he eventually surrendered to the police after negotiation initiated by politician Frank Hsieh. He was executed on October 6, 1999, after being convicted for kidnappings, murders, and multiple counts of sexual assaults.