A policeman, Huang Fon-fu, was allegedly the victim of a knife attack by a 27-year-old man surnamed Chan at the MRT Xinbeitou station at noon on Tuesday, say local police.
According to Hsieh Chih-shin, chief of Taipei City Police Department’s investigation team at the Beitou precinct, Huang approached Chan around 12 p.m. Tuesday at MRT Xinbeitou station because Chan “looked absentminded.” Chan responded to the policeman and then entered a departing train bound for MRT Beitou station with Huang. Chan then attacked Huang with a knife from behind.
He slashed at Huang three times: at his head, his back and his right arm. The wounded policeman managed to drag Chan out of the train before it departed as the two wrestled, according to Hsieh. Staff and guards at the MRT station together tackled the attacker on the platform, Hsieh said.
Officers reported that Huang remained conscious after the attack, and was in stable condition after being sent to Taipei Veterans General Hospital for treatment. Chan is currently being detained at the police station.
According to the police, Chan is a resident of Beitou District and is long-term unemployed. He has been assessed as having a mild mental disorder but has no criminal record.
Hsieh said that after the arrest Chan claimed that he hated police officers and that “they are responsible for his unemployment.”
According to metro station staff, no passengers were harmed during the incident, and the metro service is operating as normal.
Cleaner Assaulted With Saws
Another random attack was reported in Shulin District, New Taipei City less than an hour after the attack in Xinbeitou
According to the police, a 47-year-old cleaner, known only by his surname Huang, was attacked by another man, surnamed Wen, with saws at around 1 p.m.
Officers said that Huang was contracted by the Department of Environmental Protection and was on duty disinfecting the area when the attacker suddenly assaulted him with saws, cutting his left wrist. Wen was later subdued by three other cleaners at the site.
According to one of the cleaners, Wen said that “I just like killing people” after being apprehended.
Huang was rushed to Far Eastern Memorial Hospital and is currently in stable condition, officers said.
According to the police, the 23-year-old attacker helps his father with interior renovation jobs. He later justified the attack as to “protect cockroaches,” according to police officers. He is currently held under investigation.
Concerns over Copycat Attacks
The two attacks occurred just one day after a 4-year-old girl was beheaded in front of her mother in Neihu District, Taipei City. The incident drew immediate public outrage while also rousing debate over whether capital punishment should be used in the country. Others pointed at problems with the education system as the fundamental cause of the series of attacks on random victims that appeared only very recently.
Experts warned against sharing the bloody images of the victims on social media, concerned that more copycat attacks may be carried out by marginalised citizens. Reports by the press are also under scrutiny, as some worry that potential attackers may pick up details from the news that they could use in future attacks.
