A 60-year-old former executive at a biomedical foundation crashed his sedan into gate No. 3 of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) official residence in Taipei yesterday to draw attention to his concerns about major medical malpractices, police said.
Chen Ping-sung (陳柄菘) rammed his car into the gate of Chunghsing Apartment (中興寓所) at 7:10am yesterday, according to a statement from the Taipei City Police Department.
The car came to a stop in front of the gate after one of its front tires was pierced by road spikes. A can of red paint that Chen had attached to the vehicle’s front bumper burst open, splashing onto the gate, the police said.
Photo: CNA
No one was injured and the gate remains intact, they added.
Chen was detained by police officers at the gate. He was released on NT$20,000 bail in the afternoon after being questioned by prosecutors.
Wearing handcuffs and a helmet, Chen was silent as he arrived at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office at 11am and was asked by reporters what he had to say and why he had tried to ram the residence.
According to a statement from the police department’s press office, Chen tried to drive his car into the residence to express his discontent over what he perceives as institutionalized medical malpractices, citing the title of an open letter to the public that he posted on Facebook in September.
In the letter, Chen said that the bureaucratic medical system conducts nine major malpractices that cost patients their lives and urged the public not to remain silent anymore.
The arrogance and prejudice inherent in the bureaucratic medical system stem from a belief in the power of chemical medicines, he said.
However, these medicines damage patients’ immune system and organ functions, making them weak instead of saving their lives, Chen said, advocating the use of natural medicines instead.
Chen added that no matter how hard he had tried over the past years to make his concerns heard by placing advertisements in newspapers and filing petitions with government agencies, he could not bring public attention to the issue.
At the time of the incident, the president was safe inside the building and was informed immediately after it happened, Presidential Office spokesperson Ma Wei-kuo (馬瑋國) said, adding that the presidential security detail has elevated its level of protection around the president.
The Presidential Office respects citizens’ rights to express their views, but condemns any such expression that takes on a violent form, the spokesperson said.
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