The Taipei District Court yesterday afternoon approved a detention request for a Shih Hsin University student surnamed Chen (陳), who has been accused of the attempted murder of a female student.
Chen on Monday allegedly stabbed the woman, surnamed Shih (石), with a concealed knife after she rejected his advances, police said.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office filed a detention request for Chen, citing the possibility that he might attempt to flee.
Photo: Yao Yueh-hung, Taipei Times, copied from the Web site PTT
The Taipei District Court approved the pretrial detention based on witness accounts that said Chen had for the past three months stalked Shih and violated her freedom of movement.
The nature of the attack indicated that it was premediated, as Chen had pinned Shih down and stabbed her once in the shoulder and twice in the neck, the court said.
The family had long been aware of Chen’s unwanted advances, Shih’s mother said, adding that Shih had on Nov. 8 logged a report at the New Taipei City Banciao District (板橋) Police Precinct, saying that Chen had been stalking her for an extended period of time.
Chen, who had accompanied her to the station, covered Shih’s mouth, saying: “I did not do it on purpose,” police said.
Shih in the statement said that Chen started stalking her after they met on the Taipei MRT during her first year of high school.
However, Shih did not file any charges and only requested assistance in stopping Chen, the precinct said, adding that police then called Chen’s parents to request they take him home.
“We did not wish press charges against Chen, because he was still a student and we did not want him to have a police record,” Shih’s mother said.
“It is good that he missed her carotid artery by centimeters — otherwise, who could bring my daughter back?” she added.
Chen has been accused of pre-meditated attempted murder and multiple counts of intentional injury, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators John Wu (吳志揚) and Alicia Wang (王育敏) called on the Ministry of the Interior to expedite the creation of a draft act on stalking and harassment prevention.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) said that the National Police Agency, the Ministry of Justice and the ministry’s Legal Regulations Committee are working on a draft, which is to be finalized within two months.
Harassment and stalking are the prelude to criminal behavior, Wu said, adding that the draft act should be expedited through the Legislative Yuan.
The ministry has promised to deliver a draft and has failed to do so for nearly two years, Wu said, adding that if the ministry could not provide a draft soon, the KMT would call upon the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee to vote on the KMT’s version.
Wang said that a law is needed to address harassment and stalking, as such behavior is not included in the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法) or the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法).
Beijing’s continued provocations in the Taiwan Strait reveal its intention to unilaterally change the “status quo” in the area, the US Department of State said on Saturday, calling for a peaceful resolution to cross-strait issues. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) reported that four China Coast Guard patrol vessels entered restricted and prohibited waters near Kinmen County on Friday and again on Saturday. A State Department spokesperson said that Washington was aware of the incidents, and urged all parties to exercise restraint and refrain from unilaterally changing the “status quo.” “Maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is in line with our [the
EXTENDED RANGE: Hsiung Sheng missiles, 100 of which might be deployed by the end of the year, could reach Chinese command posts and airport runways, a source said A NT$16.9 billion (US$534.93 million) project to upgrade the military’s missile defense systems would be completed this year, allowing the deployment of at least 100 long-range Hsiung Sheng missiles and providing more deterrence against China, military sources said on Saturday. Hsiung Sheng missiles are an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) surface-to-surface cruise missile, and are believed to have a range of up to 1,200km, which would allow them to hit targets well inside China. They went into mass production in 2022, the sources said. The project is part of a special budget for the Ministry of National Defense aimed at
READY TO WORK: Taiwan is eager to cooperate and is hopeful that like-minded states will continue to advocate for its inclusion in regional organizations, Lai said Maintaining the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, and peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region must be a top priority, president-elect William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after meeting with a delegation of US academics. Leaders of the G7, US President Joe Biden and other international heads of state have voiced concerns about the situation in the Strait, as stability in the region is necessary for a safe, peaceful and prosperous world, Lai said. The vice president, who is to be inaugurated in May, welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their support for Taiwan and issues concerning the Strait. The international community
COOPERATION: Two crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank off Kinmen were rescued, two were found dead and another two were still missing at press time The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was yesterday working with Chinese rescuers to find two missing crewmembers from a Chinese fishing boat that sank southwest of Kinmen County yesterday, killing two crew. The joint operation managed to rescue two of the boat’s six crewmembers, but two were already dead when they were pulled from the water, the agency said in a statement. Rescuers are still searching for two others from the Min Long Yu 61222, a boat registered in China’s Fujian Province that capsized and sank 1.03 nautical miles (1.9km) southwest of Dongding Island (東碇), it added. CGA Director-General Chou Mei-wu (周美伍) told a