Lee Shih-ke

Lee Shih-ke was a Taiwanese murderer and armed robber who perpetrated Taiwan's first gunpoint bank heist. An army veteran and taxi driver, he murdered a police officer in January 1980 with the intention of using the officer's gun to rob a bank. He carried out the robbery on April 14, 1982 and was captured and executed within six weeks. However, before his capture, the police had wrongly arrested another man and produced a false confession using torture; the suspect committed suicide whilst in police custody. Lee gained a reputation as "Taiwan’s Robin Hood" due to his anger at the “nouveau riche” class and a golden statue was erected in his honor in New Taipei City, whilst legal reforms were introduced to prevent false confessions and police torture.