Tainan police on Friday arrested a man suspected of leaving threatening remarks online and saying that he wants to kill President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) just hours after former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated.
“If it was me I would also want to shoot and kill President Tsai Ing-wen,” the man allegedly wrote on Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board system.
He was later identified as a 22-year-old university graduate surnamed Chen (陳), and police arrested him at his home in Yongkang District (永康) at about 7pm, taking him to the district’s precinct headquarters for questioning.
Photo courtesy of Tainan Police
Police said that the man is also suspected of making threatening comments on PTT about Abe and the man suspected of killing the former Japanese leader in Naha, Japan, on Friday.
A preliminary investigation found that Chen graduated from university this year and is looking for work, police said, adding that he has allegedly expressed displeasure about Taiwan’s political situation.
Police said they ruled out the possibility that the man would seek to harm Tsai.
The case has been handed to the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office for investigation into suspected criminal intimidation, police said.
Following the news of the fatal shooting of Abe, the National Police Agency said that it would increase security for politicians and diplomats.
The agency said its special service and security guards would be more vigilant when protecting incumbent top government officials, as well as former presidents and vice presidents.
Security would also be tightened for legislators and city and county councilors, the agency said.
The security protocols for Taiwan-based foreign embassies and international organizations would be revised, it said.
The agency said it is considering stepping up emergency preparedness and response training for its security agents.
More personnel would be assigned to public events attended by politicians, it added.
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