Taiwan Railway Corp (TRC) is considering arming staff with body cameras and pepper spray, and allowing the forced removal of passengers who pose safety risks, following three assaults on conductors that occurred on Thursday.
There is general consensus within the organization that body cameras should be used, but opinions differ regarding the policies governing their use and management, company president Feng Hui-sheng (馮輝昇) said at a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The devices would be introduced once a consensus is reached, he said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Responding to Thursday’s incidents, Feng said the company has “zero tolerance for violence” and would cover all legal expenses for the two injured staff members.
One of the conductors was slapped by a passenger on a northbound train in Hualien County who had been asked to get off the train for refusing to turn down the volume on his cellphone.
The other conductor was struck on the head and abdomen by a drunk passenger at Sanyi Station in Miaoli County.
Photo: Screen grab from the Facebook page “Kao Bei Taiwan Railway”
Both conductors received medical checks at local hospitals and had returned home by the time of the news conference, Feng said.
Later that evening, a separate incident occurred at Shulin (樹林) Station in New Taipei City, where a passenger boarded a TRC train carrying a box cutter before being apprehended by police.
Feng visited the affected employees and directed the company’s occupational safety department to provide follow-up care and support.
The company would work with the National Police Agency’s Railway Police Bureau and local police to increase police patrols and visibility on trains, Feng said, adding that passengers suspected of causing safety issues would be forcibly removed from the trains.
The company would also adopt a stricter approach to enforcing the law, he said, citing the incident in Hualien where police allowed a disruptive passenger to remain at the station without taking legal action, only for the passenger to later assault a conductor.
The Railway Police Bureau has also recommended that personnel be equipped with defense tools, such as pepper spray, Feng said.
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