Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-jen (陳威仁) yesterday said the Taipei City Government’s deployment of SWAT officers armed with submachine guns in Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) stations and on trains is unnecessary, adding that the National Police Agency (NPA) will discuss the appropriate security measures with the city government.
“It’s unnecessary for SWAT officers to be on MRT trains with submachine guns,” Chen said before attending a meeting of the legislature’s Internal Administration Committee yesterday morning. “I think the Taipei City Police Department has heard the public reaction, and thus have made the change.”
The Taipei City Government has tightened security by increasing police presence in the MRT system following the random killings on a train on Wednesday last week that led to four deaths and 24 people being injured.
Photo: CNA
Earlier this week, the city government dispatched SWAT officers carrying submachine guns to patrol stations and trains, leading the public to question whether the move is necessary and whether it could cause collateral casualties if officers were to use the guns.
The city government responded by asking officers to carry pistols and batons instead.
Chen yesterday said that the NPA sent 160 police officers as reinforcement to maintain security in the MRT system, “but this reinforcement is only temporary.”
“In the future, the city government may increase security by hiring more civilian security personnel or stationing volunteer police. We will leave it to the city government to decide,” Chen said. “The NPA will talk with the city to see how we may help.”
NPA Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) said the Taipei City Police Department made the changes because the NPA reminded department Commissioner Huang Sheng-yung (黃昇勇) that officers should carry “appropriate arms.”
Asked if the agency would continue to send reinforcement as Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) has requested, Wang said the NPA has no such plans at the moment, since “we didn’t receive an official request from the city government, I only learned about it through media reports.”
Wang said it may be a problem for the agency to dispatch more officers to help maintain security in the MRT on a regular basis, as it is also experiencing a shortage of staff.
In related news, a man suspected of having mental problems took off his clothes at New Taipei City’s Banciao MRT station at about 5:19pm yesterday, causing one passenger to trip over and bite his own lip during the ensuing commotion.
According to a police investigation, the man started to take off his clothes in the station.
A passenger attempted to stop him by spraying him with a fire extinguisher.
The crowd in the station yesterday scattered as soon as the man started stripping, causing some confusion in the station.
Police took the man to a police station and later accompanied him to a hospital for treatment.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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