A 73-year-old woman who was involved in an altercation that went viral on social media over a priority seat on the Taipei MRT earlier this week was arrested this morning on a warrant for theft, authorities said.
In a video recorded on Monday afternoon on the Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line), the woman, surnamed Tseng (曾), approached a young person sitting in a priority seat and demanded that they get up.
When the young person refused, Tseng swung her tote bag and hit them several times. The passenger then asked someone to hold their bag, stood up and kicked Tseng, sending her flying across the carriage into a seat on the other side, the video showed.
Photo: CNA
After the video began spreading on social media yesterday, the Taipei MRT issued a statement confirming that an altercation had occurred at about 4pm on Monday on a Red Line train at Xinyi Anhe Station.
After a passenger reported the incident over the intercom, a Taipei MRT station manager boarded the train and "handled" the situation, the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said, adding that the Red Line's operations were unaffected.
Neither party involved has pressed charges, the statement said.
Yesterday morning, photos were posted on social media that appeared to show Tseng being arrested outside a convenience store, apparently after "causing a commotion" inside.
Shortly after, the Taipei Police Department's Datong Precinct said in a statement that it had arrested a 73-year-old woman, surnamed Tseng, at a convenience store on Yanping North Road on a warrant for larceny issued yesterday by the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office.
Several media reports said that Tseng had been previously arrested and served time for shoplifting in 2023.
In June, she was sentenced to 55 days in prison for theft, but failed to report for prison, prompting authorities to issue a warrant for her arrest, the reports said.
Taipei Police said that Tseng would be held for questioning before being turned over to Shilin District (士林) prosecutors.
The Taipei Police Department's Rapid Transit Division said it planned to summon Tseng and the young person for questioning over suspected contraventions of the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
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