The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said a prosecutor tried to interview the man who allegedly rammed a truck into the main gate of the Presidential Office Building on Saturday, but the suspect refused to answer any questions.
District prosecutor’ office spokesman Huang Mou-hsin (黃謀信) said Prosecutor Yen Kuan-yun (顏冠運) talked with Chang Te-cheng’s (張德正) doctor in the morning and then went to the hospital in the afternoon to interview Chang, but Chang told him he would like to remain silent.
When Yen pressed Chang, the suspect reportedly told him: “Did you not hear me? I am coughing.”
Yen wrapped up the interview in 20 minutes, Huang said, adding that the prosecutor also asked police to guard Chang closely.
Chang needs surgery to repair a fracture in his left arm, the spokesman said.
Chang’s attorney, Tseng Wei-kai (曾威凱), said his client’s condition and emotions remain unstable, so after a discussion with Chang, they decided that he would exercise his right to remain silent during the first interview with prosecutors.
Given Chang’s condition, Tseng said he hoped police would be willing to remove the handcuffs locking Chang to his bed, since his client cannot escape from the hospital.
Chang’s older brother also visited him at the hospital yesterday, telling reporters that his sibling had set a very bad example for the public.
He had publicly apologized on Sunday for his brother’s actions.
A 35-tonne truck was driven into the Presidential Office Building at 5:05am on Saturday, plowing through three layers of protective barriers and up a flight of stairs before crashing into a bulletproof door. It was the most serious security breach at the Presidential Office Building in years.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is on a visit to Honduras, on Sunday said that the government needs to look into why individuals harbor grievances that lead them to take violent action and help them resolve the problems they encounter.
“[The case] is under investigation, and the circumstance shows there was no political motive. On the other hand, [the suspect might be] discontented with the state of society, but [his actions] have violated the law and police are carrying out their responsibilities to investigate the case,” Ma said.
He also ruled out moving either the Presidential Office or the president’s official residence, which are a few hundred meters from each other.
The idea was suggested when he took office five years ago, the president said.
“We did an evaluation, but in the end we felt the likelihood of it [a security breach] was not high,” Ma said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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