Three students from National Taitung University allegedly held hostage by an armed man were given a clean bill of health — both mentally and physically — by doctors yesterday, while university authorities promised counseling to help the students return to normal life as soon as possible.
The suspect, 36-year-old Lin Kuo-cheng (林國正), took the three male students hostage on Monday evening after evading capture by police, who tried to arrest him for a suspected robbery.
Two of the students were released a couple of hours later. The remaining hostage, Chang Yu-ming (張育銘), was freed on Tuesday afternoon after a standoff that lasted nearly 21 hours and ended with Lin surrendering to police.
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
Preliminary diagnosis of Chang showed he did not exhibit symptoms of Stockholm syndrome, said Kuo Po-hsien (郭柏顯), a doctor at the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Taitung hospital.
Stockholm syndrome is a psychological phenomenon in which a hostage begins to identify with their captor and begins to empathize with them.
“However, we would recommend further follow-up checks for the students,” Kuo said.
After the ordeal, university dean Liu Chin-yuan (劉金源) expressed concern that Chang might have developed sympathy for Lin during the 21 hours he was held hostage, during which Chang passed on Lin’s demands to police and assured them that Lin did not harbor intentions to harm anyone.
In a post on Professional Technology Temple — the nation’s largest electronic bulletin board — on Tuesday night, Chang rejected the claims and said there was little he could do while being held at gunpoint.
Chang said he did not know how to explain that he was not afflicted with Stockholm syndrome.
With the door to the room where he was being held only opening inward and a gun pointed at his head, “I suppose I could have put my life on the line to prove I was not under the influence [of Stockholm syndrome],” he said.
Liu yesterday said that there was an assessment of possible scenarios made by experts during the ordeal on Tuesday in response to a police proposition to launch a raid on the room and Liu’s suggestions to convince Chang to work with the police.
Liu commended the three students for keeping their wits about them and keeping themselves safe, adding that he was certain anyone put in Chang’s position would do the same.
The two students who were released on Monday evening have described the incident as “unreal,” saying they felt like they were in a movie.
They said they were writing reports in their shared room when they heard a loud noise coming from a TV in a room across the hall.
They initially brushed off the incident, thinking that a friend was visiting a housemate, until there was a knock on the door and Chang walked in with Lin pointing a gun at his head, the students said.
Lin said he was not going to rob them or hurt them, and that he hoped they would cooperate, they said.
They said that Lin did not hurt them, but that he became emotional a few times, pointing the gun at them.
“It was unreal. It was like a movie,” they said.
The incident has prompted the Ministry of Education to turn its attention to the safety of off-campus student housing.
The ministry plans to issue a directive to education providers to contact students living off campus and remind them to take safety measures, said Liu Chia-chen (劉家禎), a ministry official responsible for student affairs.
The facilities would be requested to gather information on the location of students’ off-campus accommodation and provide assistance when necessary, Liu added.
There are about 300,000 students living off campus in rented units, Liu said.
The most common problems they encounter regarding their accommodation are theft, sexual harassment and faulty electrical wiring, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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