Taipei Shihlin District Court on Friday handed down a three-year prison term to Kuo Yen-chun (郭彥君), who in July injured four people using a kitchen knife in a random attack on the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) System.
Kuo, 27, was found guilty of causing bodily harm.
The court also ordered a three-month term for theft of the kitchen knife used in the attack, for which he can pay a NT$90,000 fine.
It is the first ruling in the case and Kuo has the right to appeal.
On July 20, Kuo went to Zhongshan MRT station and injured four people with a knife as he walked down the left-side escalator.
The assault led to a brief standoff before Kuo was subdued by security guards and passersby.
Public prosecutors had indicted Kuo on attempted murder charges, but during the trial, the judge downgraded the charges to the less serious offense of causing bodily harm.
The judge said that Kuo did not intend to kill and the four victims sustained only minor injuries.
During the investigation, Kuo said he had been unemployed for a long time and was “in a bad mood,” and that he carried out the attack to vent his frustration.
Police said Kuo had prior convictions for drug use. He was reportedly living in Taipei with his aunt after his parents divorced.
Public prosecutors said they requested a heavy sentence as a deterrent against copycats and because when questioned shortly after the attack Kuo allegedly said: “If no one had stopped me, I would have killed everyone there.”
The court said that during the trial, Kuo rescinded his statement, saying that he had no intention of killing anyone and he asked for forgiveness.
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