Taiwanese faces raps for killing transgender partner in Pasay

MANILA, Philippines (Philippine News Agency) — The Pasay City police on Monday has filed criminal charges against the Taiwanese suspect in the killing of his Filipino transgender woman partner, whose body was found stuffed in a luggage bag in Bacoor, Cavite on Saturday.

SPO4 Allan Valdez, the investigator of the case, said that murder charges have already been filed against Che Yu Tsai also known as Jayson Santos Lee, a Taiwanese from New Taipei, Taiwan. He is holding a China passport and currently resides at a condominium in Pasay City.

According to Valdez, the obtained footage from the condominium's closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera showed the suspect walking together with the victim identified as Robert William del Rosario alias Ashley Ann Reilly from Cavite.

The body was found stuffed in a luggage along the southbound lane of the Cavite Expressway in Barangay Zapote 5, Bacoor. The body was also covered with a black garbage bag.

Valdez said the incident happened last Saturday. The suspect stated that he and the victim were living together during the incident. He added that the victim, apart from asking for money, had threatened him with a knife.

After killing the victim inside their condominium unit, Tsai prepared all his personal belongings to move out.

Valdez said that in the CCTV camera footage, the suspect was having a hard time in taking a black luggage outside the room. He said that it was the same luggage where he kept the hapless victim in order to conceal the crime.

Police forensic investigators found traces of blood in the condominium unit. The suspect is now under police custody.

On Monday, Tsai faced Reilly’s kin and attempted to apologize to the family. However, he was rejected by Reilly’s mother, Clementia Del Rosario.

"I'm just sorry. I very loved your daughter," Tsai said in a television report aired Monday evening. —With reports from Philstar.com / Rosette Adel