The Taipei District Prosecutors Office yesterday indicted a man suspected of attacking a military police officer with a samurai sword at the Presidential Office Building in August on charges of attempted murder.
The prosecution is seeking a seven-year prison term for 51-year-old Lu Chun-yi (呂軍億), the indictment said.
According to prosecutors, Lu had said that his main intention was to kill President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and that he “was prepared to attack anyone else if they tried to get in my way.”
On Aug. 18, Lu approached the west wing of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei and allegedly struck the neck of a military police officer surnamed Chou (周), who was on sentry duty by the entrance, with a Japanese sword.
Chou received cuts to his neck and hands, but managed to block Lu from getting further before being taken to the hospital.
Lu was overpowered by other military guards before he could enter the building, and police found a self-penned letter and a People’s Republic of China flag in his bag.
Investigators said Lu had strong pro-China political beliefs and had in June written online: “I want to pay my respect to the great chairman Mao Zedong (毛澤東)...”
It was later determined that Lu had stolen the sword from the nearby Armed Forces Museum on Guiyang Street by smashing the display case with a hammer.
Additional reporting by CNA
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