Taiwanese were still in shock yesterday at the brutality and unrepentant attitude of Cheng Chieh (鄭捷), the alleged perpetrator of the random killing spree on Taipei’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system on Wednesday that resulted in four deaths, with many saying they feel uneasy about using public transport even after Cheng was detained yesterday morning.
Cheng’s motives remained unclear, but a preliminary analysis points to a high probability of Cheng having some kind of psychosis, National Police Agency (NPA) Deputy Director-General Lin Kuo-tung (林國棟) said yesterday.
Cheng, a 21-year-old student at Tunghai University in Greater Taichung, had allegedly used a previously concealed knife to stab randomly at people on the MRT Bannan Line when the train was traveling from Longshan Temple Station to Jiangzicui Station, causing the death of four people and wounding another 23 people.
Photo: CNA
The alleged killer was detained by police at 4pm on Wednesday at Jianzicui police station for an official report of the incident to be logged and filed, before he was moved to the New Taipei City Police Department’s Haishan Precinct for fingerprinting.
Cheng was transferred to the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office at 2:39am yesterday, but Cheng and his police escorts were surrounded by angry people who tried to attack Cheng during the transfer. The police managed to protect him from harm.
The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office filed a request with the district court to detain Cheng at 6am. The court approved the request on the grounds that the evidence of the crime was solid.
Photo: CNA
Cheng was not barred from visitation as he had clearly committed his actions alone and did not need to collude with others, the court said.
The Taipei Detention Center received Cheng at 6:40am yesterday, about 14 hours after the stabbing spree.
The center said Cheng, now detainee No. 1892, was in solitary confinement in an effort to protect him, as well as other inmates.
Many civilians, both local and from afar, brought flowers to the MRT’s Jiangzicui Station and left notes to mourn the deaths of the passengers.
Fearing for their children’s safety, many parents escorted their children to school yesterday.
One mother, surnamed Lin (林), said there are only four MRT stops between her home at Jiangzicui Station to her child’s school at Fuzhong Station, but after Wednesday’s incident she was very worried and got up early to take her child to school before heading to work.
The NPA stepped up security at each MRT station in both Taipei City and New Taipei City, starting at 8pm on Wednesday, and yesterday canceled all days off for police officers at the Railway Police Bureau.
The bureau heightened alerts across all forms of public transportation, including on the Taiwan Railways Administration’s (TRA) trains and at all Taiwan High Speed Rail stations.
According to a report by the Liberty Times, the Taipei Times’ sister paper, a man surnamed Chien (簡) expressed concern about the incident’s impact on society, as it was the first incident of homicide on Taiwan’s public transportation system.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
‘GRAY ZONE’ PRESSURE: Beijing’s activities are intended to create the deceitful impression that China has jurisdiction over the area around Taiwan, the CGA said Taiwan’s rights over its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone must not be violated by any country, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that it will not accept any unprovoked actions. The council issued the remarks in response to the China Coast Guard conducting maritime enforcement drills near eastern Taiwan and claiming to fully exercise China’s maritime administrative law enforcement authority. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) has been closely monitoring the situation and is taking concrete steps to defend the nation’s sovereignty and secure its waters, the council said. China has no sovereign rights over the waters off eastern
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RSS