A suspect has been identified after two threats to public safety were e-mailed to Taipei Rapid Transit Corp yesterday and on Friday, and police presence on the system has been increased, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.
In addition to a bomb threat received on Friday morning via e-mail, the MRT operator also received an e-mail at about 7am yesterday saying that a mass killing would occur on the transit system.
Police have identified a suspect and the public should not be worried, Chiang said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chiang yesterday condemned the behavior and said the city has asked the Taipei Police Department and its Rapid Transit Division to increase patrols in the MRT system.
The division yesterday said the two e-mails were tracked to the sender’s Internet protocol address, which was routed through an overseas virtual private network.
A preliminary investigation suggested that the suspect is a Chinese student who had studied in a university in Taiwan and is now outside the country, the division said.
The student had been identified sending six other e-mailed threats to the MRT operator this year, it said.
All the threats have been referred to a prosecutor for investigation, and police are working with the city’s Criminal Investigation Bureau and the Criminal Investigation Corps on the cases, the Rapid Transit Division said.
Taipei City Government spokesperson Lo Wang-zhe (羅旺哲) yesterday said the public should remain aware of their surroundings when taking the MRT, and calmly report suspicious activities, people or objects through emergency intercoms on trains or to station personnel.
Additional reporting by CNA
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS