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Mark Magnier

Laura Zhou

Taiwanese authorities have ordered a stronger police presence in crowded public areas after a rare mass stabbing in central Taipei left three people dead and 11 wounded.
Police said on Saturday that Friday night’s attack during which the suspected assailant exploded smoke and petrol bombs before going on a violent rampage in two subway stations was not terrorism and that he had acted alone.
They said the suspect – 27-year-old Chang Wen – threw smoke grenades into the Taipei Main Metro station, fatally stabbed one person, then ran to nearby Zhongshan station, where he continued his stabbing spree.
The attacker also died after he jumped off a building in an apparent attempt to escape.


Two of the wounded remained in intensive care while five others had been discharged, health authorities said on Saturday.
“Based on relevant verification work ‍carried out continuously since yesterday, ⁠we ‍have not found that the suspect had any accomplices,” Central News Agency quoted Chang Jung-hsin, the island’s police chief, as saying.
He added that an investigation was under way into the attacker’s motive.
Chang Jung-hsin said investigators searched the suspect’s home in Taipei and a hotel room he stayed at before the attack and found petrol bombs and knives. Police also confiscated a laptop computer and a phone belonging to the suspect.
Chang Wen’s parents, who live in Taoyuan, were taken in for questioning in Taipei on Saturday and escorted back home around 1pm.
Speaking to the media at National Taiwan University Hospital, Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said the government would step up the police presence, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas in the city to ensure a swift response to any threats.
In a social media post on Saturday, the American Institute in Taiwan, the de facto US embassy, offered condolences to the victims and families “affected by the senseless and tragic attack”.
“We commend the first responders and medical personnel for their swift and courageous actions, and we stand in solidarity, as always, with the people of Taiwan,” it said.
Other foreign representative offices on the island, including the Canadian Trade Office and the French Office in Taipei, offered similar sentiments on social media.
Security has been tightened in major cities across the island, according to local media reports.
In Taipei, authorities have ordered a stronger police presence at crowded locations, including subway and railway stations as well as bus terminals and airports. More than 1,000 officers will be sent on daily patrols to maintain public safety.
In the southern city of Kaohsiung, police have stepped up patrols in business areas where Christmas and New Year celebrations are planned.

And in Penghu county, an archipelago of islands about 50km (31 miles) west of Taiwan’s main island, the police presence had been visibly strengthened at major airports and ports, United Daily News reported.
Statistics indicate Taiwan is among the safest advanced societies in the world when it comes to violent crime. A 2020 report by the global database Numbeo named the self-governed island the second-safest economy in the world, drawing on crime-rate statistics and survey responses indicating that respondents felt safe walking alone at night.
CNA reported that Chang Wen did not show up for his reserve military training in November 2024 and was sought for violating Taiwan’s mandatory military service law.
In addition, he failed to report a change in household registration, which meant his reserve military service summons was not delivered, the agency reported, citing a district prosecutors’ office.
Several news sites showed the apparent attacker dressed in shorts all in black reaching into his backpack placed in the middle of a street and fishing out smoke bombs before slashing people with a roughly foot-long (30cm) knife as he headed into the shopping centre.
Other videos on social media showed pedestrians walking down subway tunnels as a wall of smoke approached them and customers laden with shopping bags fleeing the centre in terror.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary. Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but Washington is opposed to any attempt to take the self-governed island by force and is committed to supplying it with weapons.


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Taiwan

Taiwan steps up police patrols after fatal mass stabbing in Taipei Metro

Swat team members respond at the scene of a knife attack in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday. Photo: Reuters

Emergency crews attend the scene after several smoke grenades were set off inside the Taipei Main station in Taipei, Taiwan, on Friday. Photo: EPA

Chinese man stabs wife after suspecting her of infidelity with butcher over meat discount

A jealous Chinese husband  has been jailed after he flew into a rage when a local butcher gave his wife discounts on the meat she was buying and stabbed her multiple times. Photo: SCMP composite/Shutterstock

Zou flew into a rage when the local butcher gave his wife discounts on a range of meats. Photo: AFP

Zou became suspicious when he and his wife were out shopping at a local wet market. Photo: AFP

After he was arrested, Zou confessed to the crime, leading to a lenient sentence. Photo: Shutterstock

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Singapore’s skyline. A woman was jailed for 31 months for fatally stabbing her husband during a brawl in the city state. Photo: Reuters

One Filipino worker killed after knife fight breaks out on board Taiwan fishing vessel

A Taiwan Coast Guard vessel. File photo: Reuters

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News

China

Three people killed in attack that police say was carried out by a 27-year-old man acting alone


Three people killed in attack that police say was carried out by a 27-year-old man acting alone.


Crime

Taiwan steps up police patrols after fatal mass stabbing in Taipei Metro

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Three people killed in attack that police say was carried out by a 27-year-old man acting alone

Three people killed in attack that police say was carried out by a 27-year-old man acting alone