Court issues warrant for Chinese murder suspect

JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Sept. 19 (Yonhap) -- A local court on Monday issued a writ to formally arrest a Chinese man suspected of killing a South Korean woman who was praying at a Catholic church on the country's resort island of Jeju last week.

The 50-year-old man, identified only by his surname Chen, is accused of stabbing the 61-year-old victim while she was inside the church alone on Saturday morning, according to the Jeju Seobu Police Station. The suspect was nabbed a few hours later some 40 kilometers from the scene of the incident.

On Monday, the Jeju District Court issued a warrant to take him into detention, citing the possibility he would flee.

He entered the country as a tourist under the transit-without-visa program on Wednesday and was scheduled to leave this week, police said.

During the police interrogation, Chen said he committed the crime because the victim reminded him of his former wives who ran away after having extramarital affairs, according to police.

Still, police said they are trying to investigate a more detailed motive behind the attack as he purchased the weapon right after entering the island.

The victim was pronounced dead earlier on Sunday though she was rushed to a nearby hospital after the attacker fled the scene.

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