The High Court yesterday increased the prison sentence of a 44-year-old woman to seven years for attacking a high-school student with a box cutter on the Taipei MRT in 2024, raising the penalty of four years and six months imposed by a lower court.
In its written judgement, the court also ordered the defendant, Wang Ching-ssu (王靖絲), to undergo two years of court-mandated residential psychiatric supervision after completing her prison sentence, citing a diagnosis of schizophrenia.
The High Court said Wang carried out the attack on the night of Nov. 8, 2024, while riding a Bannan Line train traveling from Xinpu Station to Dingpu Station in New Taipei City.
Photo: Chen Yu-ting, Taipei Times
During the journey, she pulled out a box cutter and slashed a 17-year-old male student, surnamed Cheng (鄭), causing lacerations to his left cheek, neck and ear.
Cheng fought back and, with the help of other passengers, restrained Wang, preventing more serious injuries, the court said.
The incident triggered panic across six train cars, with passengers fleeing and three people injured in the chaos.
The train took six times the normal time to arrive, disrupting subsequent services and undermining public confidence in the safety of the MRT, the ruling said.
The court found that Wang was experiencing auditory hallucinations at the time and mistakenly believed the student was stalking her, impairing her ability to judge her actions.
While her mental condition warranted a reduced sentence under the Criminal Code, the High Court said the original ruling failed to adequately reflect the severity of the attack and its broader social impact.
The panel concluded that Wang’s conduct constituted attempted murder, as well as offenses related to obstructing railway operations and endangering the functioning of a mass rapid transit system, and ruled that sentencing should be based on the most serious charge.
The court said Wang had only glanced briefly at the victim before the attack and could not determine that the 17-year-old was a minor, making harsher penalties applicable under the Protection of Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) inapplicable.
However, it applied Paragraph 2, Article 19 of the Criminal Code, allowing for a reduced sentence due to her diminished capacity, the High Court said.
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