A mainland Chinese woman, who married by arrangement and lives in Tamsui, New Taipei City, Taiwan, is suspected of disposing of her 93-year-old mother-in-law's body by throwing it into the Tamsui River. Police did not find any traces of blood, signs of fighting, damage, or evidence of external force at the deceased's residence. The daughter-in-law claimed the elderly woman died suddenly of unknown causes, and not knowing how to handle the situation, she threw the body into the river. The prosecution has directed that the case be referred on suspicion of abandoning a corpse.
According to a United Daily News report on the 19th, the deceased, surnamed Wang, had a son who previously worked in mainland China and married a 40-year-old woman surnamed Yin. Later, her son shifted his business to Vietnam. This year in January, he brought Ms. Yin to Taiwan, leaving just the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law living together in the apartment and caring for each other.
The elderly woman had two sons and five daughters. Her other children were married and lived separately in Taipei and New Taipei City. She only spoke Fuzhou dialect, showed no signs of dementia, was able to take care of herself in daily life, could go up and down stairs and go out shopping or visit neighbors independently. Her range of activities included Tamsui, Zhuwei, Guandu, Shilin, and Beitou, all near her home.
●Disappearance in Early August
The woman’s children noticed her missing from home in early August and, worried that she might have acutely gotten lost due to sudden confusion associated with old age, questioned the daughter-in-law, who responded evasively. The family reported her missing to the police during Father’s Day. On the 17th, they contacted the police again after noticing that Ms. Yin was behaving suspiciously, leaving a large suitcase outside the door without bringing it inside.
Police checked surveillance footage and found that at around 5 p.m. on August 6, Ms. Yin was seen dragging this large suitcase from their residence near Zhuwei Station, taking the MRT to Tamsui Station, then walking through the riverside park at the back of the station toward the riverbank. After momentarily leaving the camera’s range, when she reappeared, the suitcase, which had seemed heavy, was obviously much lighter. Police and family members thus strongly suspected the daughter-in-law was involved in the mother-in-law's disappearance.
Despite multiple searches along the riverbank behind MRT Tamsui Station by police, family and firefighters, no results were obtained and the case stalled. It was not until August 26, when a city government river-cleaning contractor discovered female remains among the mangrove trees near Hongshulin Station, that the DNA collected by forensics confirmed the body to be the missing Ms. Wang. Her body had drifted over 2 kilometers upriver with the tides and was not located until 20 days later.
The family then pressed charges against Ms. Yin. When confronted by police with evidence, she finally confessed, stating that after her mother-in-law came home to rest one day, she died suddenly of unknown causes. Not familiar with local procedures or laws and afraid she'd be blamed for not caring for the elderly woman, she panicked and did not know how to handle the body. She therefore put the body in a suitcase, transported it to the Tamsui River, disposed of it, then brought the suitcase back and left it outside the apartment, unwilling to bring it inside.
Last month on the 19th, a police forensic team went to the elderly woman's house and examined the suitcase, but found no blood, signs of fighting, damage, or external forces. The cause of death remains undetermined. On Thursday the 18th, after consultation, the prosecutor directed the case to be referred to the district prosecutor’s office on suspicion of abandoning a corpse and has restricted Ms. Yin from leaving the country or going to sea. Further investigation will continue to clarify whether Ms. Yin is criminally liable for any other offenses and to attempt a complete reconstruction of the facts.