Secret husband suspected of arranging Japan murder for payout

Secret husband suspected of arranging Japan murder for payout

2026-10-27

A Taiwanese woman who went on a trip to Japan never returned to Taiwan, after being stabbed to death, allegedly by a fellow traveler in the same tour group. The murder happened at a hot springs hotel in the popular Lake Kawaguchiko on Monday. Local police arrested a suspect, a woman called Yang Min-han. Now, reports have surfaced that the murder may have been orchestrated by the victim’s husband, who is suspected of marriage fraud for a potential insurance payout. Let’s hear more.

Wang Sheng-hao
Prosecutor in case
The preliminary findings suggest that Mr. Lee entered a sham marriage with the victim, Ms. Ching. He encouraged her to go on a solo trip to Japan and took out a high-value insurance policy on her.

Kao Ta-cheng
Forensic scientist
The victim was taken to a developed country, a country with good public safety, to be murdered there. That’s really rare, it’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it. I think the victim must have known that she was going to be murdered. But to be tricked so far… he must be incredible at deception.

Voice of victim’s friend (Anonymized)
Was suspicious of marriage
For as long as I knew her, she had always been single. So I was shocked when she told me out of the blue that she had a husband. I heard her arguing on the phone, but she said it was nothing, that it was just something to do with her husband. I asked what happened. She shrugged it off and said she might be getting divorced.

The victim, Ching Yun-jung, met her husband, Mr. Lee, in May this year, after she applied to work as his assistant. Shortly after, he proposed getting married, saying he would give her NT$4 -5 million if she bore him a baby. They eloped in July. According to a report, she had previously contacted a reporter asking for help, saying she had been involved in a scam and that she feared for her life. The reporter tried to persuade her to get divorced as quickly as possible, and to change the beneficiary on the insurance policy. On Sept. 21, Mr. Lee arranged for the victim to travel to Japan alone as part of a tour group. The trip was postponed, after an incident in which Ms. Ching fell onto the tracks on the High Speed Rail in Taiwan. Mr. Lee signed her up to another tour group four days later and purchased a high-value insurance policy. The victim had previously said she feared she might not live to see the end of the year, and tragically, her fears became a chilling reality.

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