Lawmakers yesterday urged local authorities to take action to protect workers after a man allegedly assaulted a female clerk at a convenience store in Pingtung County.
The attack occurred on Sunday, when the clerk, surnamed Pan (潘), asked the man, surnamed Yang (楊), to wear a mask inside the store.
He then allegedly beat her up and tried to gouge her eyes.
Photo: Chen Yen-ting, Taipei Times
As of yesterday, she had undergone several surgeries, but her life was no longer in danger.
New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) said the Mental Health Act (精神衛生法), should be amended to better protect the public from people with psychological disorders and records of violent behavior.
She said that the amendments should “close the act’s loopholes” to prevent similar attacks.
Yang had undergone treatment in a psychiatric hospital and has a criminal record including violent offenses, but government agencies failed to monitor him, she said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱), who represents a constituency in Pingtung, said that his staff was in contact with Pan’s family and were involved in a campaign to collect donations for her.
His staff would help her apply for compensation under the state labor insurance program.
Meanwhile, about 50 residents of Sinnan Village (新南) in the county’s Kaohshu Township (高樹), where Yang lives, protested at the Pingtung Public Health Bureau yesterday.
They said that Yang must remain in police custody as he had committed violent offenses before.
“Yang has terrorized our whole village,” they said.
“Every time Yang gets arrested and admitted to hospital for psychiatric treatment, he returns home after a few days,” Sinnan Warden Chang Chi-yuan (張吉源) said. “This has happened too many times. We fear who might be the next victim.”
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