Lovers' spat or murder plot? Man's body found floating in Taiwan creek after trip with KTV hostess

Visitors to a creek in Changhua, Taiwan made a grisly find on Oct 29 when they spotted the body of a man floating in the water.

The 50-year-old was found with a 40kg rock tied to his torso and a black bag wrapped around his head, Taiwanese media reported.

As the police arrested a female suspect related to the case on Nov 2, they unearthed a possible ploy by her family to kill her lover.

According to the deceased's friend, the divorcee met the 30-year-old KTV hostess in Taipei late last year.

He became smitten with her and lavished her with a brand new BMW car as well as a TWD 100,000 (S$4,900) monthly allowance.

The couple broke up in September and the woman moved out of his apartment in Taipei, neighbours told the media.

Despite the split, she showed up again in mid-October and was seen leaving a friends' gathering with the man, saying that they were going to her home in Changhua.

No one heard from him after that.

Following her arrest, the suspect told the police that she went out with the deceased and her family in October.

The pair got into an argument that resulted in her striking and killing him, she said.

However, she later gave the police a different account of the incident, saying that her family had beaten the man to death.

According to the police, surveillance footage showed that the woman withdrew a large amount of cash from the man's bank account with his ATM card.

While she didn't confirm whether she was a kept woman, the suspect denied taking the man's money.

Further investigations revealed that the woman's parents and younger brother's possible involvement in the case, and the police took them into custody.

Her father later admitted to killing the man after he saw him hitting her, but the suspect's brother denied taking part in the attack.

lamminlee@asiaone.com