The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said it was coordinating with police agencies to establish a national task force to curb the spread of violent rhetoric and threats online following a mass stabbing incident in Taipei on Friday.
Twenty posts or comments on social media and online forums have been flagged for containing violent threats or suggesting that an indiscriminate attack was forthcoming.
The task force would quickly investigate and pursue legal action against those making violent threats, inciting violence or claiming they would carry out attacks, the bureau said.
Photo: Yao Yueh-hung, Taipei Times
As of 4pm yesterday, three people had been arrested, it said.
New Taipei City police arrested a man surnamed Chang (張) in Taichung for allegedly posting a comment on Threads saying that the original plan of the attack was to occur in a different station, the CIB said.
Similarly, police in Taichung arrested a man surnamed Tang (唐) in Taoyuan for allegedly writing on Threads that “someone really did what I wanted to do,” an apparent reference to Friday’s attack, it said.
New Taipei City police arrested a man surnamed Peng (彭) for allegedly writing on Instagram that “no one will stop the Zhongshan knife attack.”
All three incidents were flagged as threats to public safety, the bureau said.
The CIB urged people to not share, endorse or treat as jokes suspicious posts or comments advocating violence to avoid fueling panic or copycat behavior.
People who come across messages that threaten public safety should immediately save screenshots, links, account information and timestamps, and report them to the police as soon as possible by calling 110 or going to the nearest police station, it said.
In related news, a university student was released on NT$50,000 bail after being detained and questioned for reposting online a message about a potential attack on Kaohsiung Main Station that referenced the stabbings in Taipei.
The message appeared on Threads after four people, including the perpetrator, 27-year-old Chang Wen (張文), died during an indiscriminate knife attack late on Friday near Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan MRT Station, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office in Kaohsiung said yesterday.
The post claimed that a “bigger event would be carried out at Kaohsiung Main Station on Dec. 25” and that “the main character, Chang Wen, is my brother.”
Authorities later determined that the post’s Internet protocol address was suspected to be located in Vietnam.
The message was widely shared online, including by a man surnamed Chen (陳), a university student, prompting prosecutors, police and investigators to open an investigation amid fears it could inspire a copycat attack.
Investigators traced Chen’s repost and searched his residence on Saturday before detaining him for questioning, prosecutors said.
Chen told investigators that he reposted the message to “remind people to stay alert,” but failed to clearly label it as a warning, which led to misunderstanding and public panic, they said.
Prosecutors did not accept Chen’s explanation and determined his actions constituted a threat to public safety, with substantial criminal suspicion.
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