Inspired by the stabbing rampage on Taipei’s MRT system last year, students in Chih-Kwang Senior Vocational Business and Technology High School’s multimedia department came up with the idea of turning an umbrella into a weapon of self-defense by placing a can of mace in the handle.
During a graduation exhibition on Monday, students at the New Taipei City school said they have developed a “multipurpose defensive umbrella.”
Student Fei Chun-chi (斐俊期) said that many people have been scared of taking the MRT since last year’s stabbing rampage, and that most MRT riders are not equipped to defend themselves against potential assailants. Fei said the students’ goal was to equip everyday items with defensive capabilities.
Photo: Weng Yu-huang, Taipei Times
Student Huang Ssu-kai (黃思凱) said the group had originally thought of hiding a cone-shaped blade in an umbrella handle to “combat violence with violence,” but MRT regulations bar passengers from carrying weapons.
As the goal was to deter an assailant, not to cause further harm, the students thought of making an umbrella handle into an extendable baton, Huang said.
However, if the user was under stress, they might fumble and not be able to extend the baton, he said.
After some more brainstorming, the students came up with the idea of mace spray that would allow users to fend off an assailant’s advances with the umbrella itself, as well as using the mace to disorient the attacker and buy time for police officers to arrive, Huang said.
The students said they were looking to strengthen the umbrella’s fabric as well as reinforce its frame, while keeping an eye on its total weight.
“We hope to produce something that will truly combine the utility of an umbrella while meeting the need for a self-defense tool,” the group said.
Four people were killed and more than a score injured on May 21 last year when 21-year-old Cheng Chieh (鄭捷) began stabbing other MRT passengers as their train traveled from Jiangzicui Station to Longshan Temple Station.
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