On the evening of 18 November 1997, South African military attaché McGill Alexander and his family were taken hostage for approximately twenty-one hours by wanted fugitive Chen Chin-hsing [zh] in their home in Taipei, Taiwan.
[1] Chen forcibly entered the Alexanders' home at approximately 7:00 pm (Taiwan time) that evening.
[2] At approximately 7:00 pm Taiwan time, Chen Chin-hsing (陳進興; Chén Jìnxīng) forcefully entered the Alexander house via the garage.
[3] Chen put his arm around Christine's neck, and forced her to walk upstairs to where the rest of the family was located.
Melanie called her friend Michael, who worked at CNN, and within an hour, the media was alerted to the situation and police officers surrounded the house.
Chen was found guilty on charges including sexual assault, kidnapping, and murder and executed on 6 October 1999.