A couple have been arrested and charged with kidnapping and murdering a Taiwan businessman in Shanghai, the municipal police announced on Tuesday.

Chen Wenke, a 48-year-old businessman from Yunlin County of Taiwan, was reported missing on May 8. He called his family on May 2 for the last time, said a spokesman with Shanghai Police Station.

Chen's family did not receive any calls from blackmailers.

Police set up a task force to search for Chen. Five days later, they caught a suspect and her ex-husband in neighboring Jiangsu Province.

Li Mei, 26, worked at a night club in Shanghai. She met Chen at the night club at the end of last year and kept in contact with him.

According to police, she and her ex-husband kidnapped Chen and killed him on May 2. Police say the couple have confessed to the murder.

(Xinhua News Agency May 16, 2007)