TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - A man suspected of having robbed NT$500,000 (US$16,000) from a post office in Nantou County Friday was apprehended at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport just before boarding a flight to China Saturday.
A masked man armed with a gun entered the Qingshui Post Office in the town of Lugu Friday afternoon, threw a bag on the counter and ordered staff to fill it with money, the Central News Agency reported.
Twenty seconds later, the man walked out of the post office with NT$500,000, police said. However, thanks to surveillance cameras in the area, their attention soon focused on a 38-year-old resident of Nantou City named Chou (周).
He used an underground financial broker to wire NT$450,000 out of the country, a sign that he was prepared to flee Taiwan, reports said.
Police showed up at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Saturday morning and managed to intercept Chou just before he was boarding a flight to Xiamen in China, reports said.