The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it has completed its investigation into last month’s stabbing attack at Taipei Main Station and would not press any charges, as the suspect is dead and is believed to have acted alone.
The investigation into the suspect’s finances, phone records and movements has determined that he acted independently and without direction, instigation or mobilization from any criminal organization, religious group, foreign actor or other party, prosecutors said.
The 27-year-old suspect, Chang Wen (張文), threw smoke grenades and stabbed passersby at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT Station on Dec. 19 last year.
Photo: CNA
He killed three people and wounded 11 before falling from the Eslite Spectrum Nanxi department store near Zhongshan MRT Station after being pursued by police.
He was later pronounced dead.
The investigation found that Chang planned the attack meticulously and began buying supplies, including gas masks and smoke grenades, more than a year and a half ago, prosecutors said.
As the defendant is deceased, they have issued a decision not to prosecute in accordance with the law, prosecutors said.
Chang would otherwise have faced charges including murder, attempted murder, preparation to commit murder, attempted arson, contravening the Firearms, Ammunition and Knives Control Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) and public intimidation under the Criminal Code, they said.
It was found that Chang’s only sources of income since 2020 were bank transfers from his mother and his salary, totaling NT$1,986,961 (US$62,892), with no unidentified transactions discovered, prosecutors and police said.
He withdrew everything from his Chunghwa Post and Yuanta Bank accounts on Aug. 28, 2023, and had a total of NT$967,438 in available funds as of the attack on Dec. 19, they added.
Chang spent NT$48,200 on military-style replica smoke grenades on Jan. 12 and 13 last year, and NT$37,563 on online shopping platforms, including Ruten and Shopee, to purchase items such as knives, gas masks and a tactical vest, they said.
The remaining funds were determined to have been spent on rent, a security deposit, online purchases and personal living expenses, they said.
He had sufficient funds to carry out the crimes alone, without needing financial backing from organizations or accomplices, they said.
That conclusion was backed up by surveillance footage, YouBike usage data and EasyCard transit records, they added.
Investigators checked Chang’s calls from his three mobile phone numbers and went through his social media accounts, including Line, Facebook, Discord and Reddit, they said.
The records showed no interaction with any possible accomplices or criminal organizations, they said.
A document recovered from Chang’s Google account, created on Oct. 5, showed a detailed plan for the attack, which was accessed and edited solely by Chang’s account and was not shared with others, they added.
Following the incident, the High Prosecutors’ Office instructed district prosecutors’ offices nationwide to specifically handle cases involving online threats, public transportation and public spaces, and to initiate reporting and response measures, they said.
As of Wednesday, prosecutors’ offices nationwide had investigated 51 cases, with no evidence linking them to Chang or the Taipei attack, they said.
Separately, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office announced that it has concluded its investigation into Chang on suspicion of contravening the Punishment Act for Violation of Military Service System (妨害兵役治罪條例).
It said it has decided not to prosecute.
Chang failed to report a change of household registration and so his training call-up order was unable to be delivered in November 2024, resulting in his addition to a wanted list on July 11 last year.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The next minimum wage hike is expected to exceed NT$30,000, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday during an award ceremony honoring “model workers,” including migrant workers, at the Presidential Office ahead of Workers’ Day today. Lai said he wished to thank the awardees on behalf of the nation and extend his most sincere respect for their hard work, on which Taiwan’s prosperity has been built. Lai specifically thanked 10 migrant workers selected for the award, saying that although they left their home countries to further their own goals, their efforts have benefited Taiwan as well. The nation’s industrial sector and small businesses lay
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS