TAIPEI: A construction company chairman and his nephew have been arrested and charged with murder in the shooting of a 58-year-old man in Taipei.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office says it will seek life imprisonment for Yeh Sung-nien, the chairman of Long-Lain Construction Corp, and his nephew, Shen Tsung-chi.

The victim, real estate agent Wang Ke-Chiang, was gunned down in broad daylight Feb 16 as he was leaving his home on Guangfu South Road in downtown Taipei. Witnesses said the gunman rode a motorcycle and was wearing a helmet. Wang was taken to Cathay General Hospital badly wounded. He died the next day, February 17.

The prosecutors allege Wang's death was related to the demolition and re-development of the 30-year-old apartment complex where he lived.

Re-development of the prime location complex has been under discussion for 13 years. The source of the delay was difficulty negotiating agreements with residents of the building.

Long-Lain got involved in 1999. In March 2008, the company obtained a government permit. Yeh told reporters at the time that he planned to build a mixed-use office and residential complex valued at over NT$10 billion. The project was to have been completed within the year but that did not happen.

Wang appears to have been given a warning late last year, when the Chinese word meaning "die" was spray-painted downstairs from his apartment, neighbors told police.

Yeh and Shen denied any connection with the shooting during the investigation.

But recordings made by security camera showed Shen near the site of the shooting on three consecutive days prior to February 16. Prosecutors allege Shen was surveying the location.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 05/22/2009 page1)