A drug offender released from prison in a nationwide amnesty last Monday was arrested on Monday for allegedly beating a National Taiwan University associate professor to death.The suspected murderer, surnamed Yang, was later taken to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning. Police noted that Yang seemed to be in a trance and could not explain why or how he allegedly made the attack.

Police suspected that the alleged murderer was "driven by an uncontrollable craving for money to purchase narcotics," according to local TV news reports.

The 38-year-old suspect was believed to be out of control at the time of the incident and would have beaten any one he saw, local media speculated.

An eyewitness surnamed Huang told police that after beating the victim to the ground, Yang continued to kick the attacked man wildly for three full minutes.

The victim, Hsieh Huan-ju, an associate professor at NTUs Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, was attacked at around 10 a.m. on Monday while riding his bicycle at a riverside park.

The 55-year-old was rushed to the Tri-Service General Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 1 p.m. on Monday following emergency treatment.

Hsiehs unexpected death astonished and saddened his family members and colleagues as well as the university.

Hsiehs brother-in-law disclosed that Hsieh was even-tempered and planned to retire the next year to conduct forest biology research in eastern Hualian County, and that he had bought a place there for that purpose.

One of Hsiehs colleagues, an NTU professor surnamed Tsai, noted that Hsieh was a talented, experienced and hard-working teacher and had a good relationship with students, stressing, "His death is the nations loss."

NTU Professor Fu Li-chen, the universitys secretary-general as well as spokesman, said, "Hsieh was attacked on his way to the university and suffered injuries on his head and chest. NTU will provide financial assistance or other support for his wife and two daughters if necessary."

"It is regrettable that an innocent associate professor was beaten to death by a man who was just discharged from prison under the commutation policy," Fu emphasized, stressing that the NTU will consider whether to suggest that Hsiehs family members apply for national compensation from the government.

The killing shocked the nation and further raised public doubt about whether government agencies were prepared for the release of a huge number of inmates under the commutation policy put into practice last Monday.

Another discharged man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly robbing a woman of her purse just five days after his release. The man reportedly blamed the crime on his failure to find a job and lack of money for food.

According to the islands main Chinese-language newspapers, a total of five men and one woman, all convicted drug offenders, died from drug overdoses within one day of their release from prison last Monday.

As of press time on Monday, a total of 26 people released under the amnesty had been re-arrested as suspects in new crimes, according to the National Police Agency.

Opposition parties have urged related government agencies to follow through on their promise to step up their efforts to prevent those who were released under the commutation policy from recommitting crimes, to maintain public order and to reduce any adverse impact on society brought by the amnesty plan.