Prosecutors yesterday indicted a man accused of making and detonating a bomb on a Taipei train in July that injured 25 people, and asked for a 30-year prison sentence.
Lin Ying-chang (林英昌) allegedly detonated a homemade explosive device on a commuter train when it was pulling into Songshan Railway Station a July 7. He has been charged with attempted murder, endangering public safety and illegal possession of explosives.
According to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, Lin claimed he had a psychiatric illness to evade legal responsibility, but an assessment determined that he was of sound mind at the time of the incident.
Lin, a 55-year-old homeless man was one of the 25 people injured in the blast.
He was identified by police as the main suspect after GPS information led police to his van and surveillance cameras showed Lin carrying a canvas bag identical to the one police found in the train carriage’s bathroom after the explosion.
Police searched Lin’s van, parked in Nantou County, and found a note allegedly written by Lin saying that he wanted to die.
After comparing Lin’s DNA with evidence on a pipe allegedly used to make the explosive device, the Criminal Investigation Bureau concluded that Lin took the explosive device onto the train.
Based on the note found in Lin’s van, police suspect that Lin expected to die in the explosion. He has been treated for tonsil cancer and mental illness and has faced financial difficulties in recent years, police said.
However, when questioned by police Lin said he just wanted attention, they said.
He also said he set off the explosive device by himself and that he had no accomplice, police said.
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