Two men arrested over an incident in which suitcases loaded with gasoline were planted on a high-speed train and near a lawmaker’s office have been released without charges, police said yesterday, adding that one of the devices could have emitted a cloud of poisonous gas.
The duo, brothers identified only by their surname Lai (賴), were arrested at their home in Greater Taichung on Sunday, but were released early yesterday morning after questioning, police said.
A police officer, who asked not to be named, said the pair had been ruled out as possible suspects.
Minister of the Interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源) said he expected further arrests soon.
“My understanding is that police have collected sufficient information on the suspects. The police should be able to catch them soon,” Lee told reporters.
The incident happened on Friday, when two unattended suitcases were found on a high-speed rail train bound for Taipei.
Two other suitcases, also containing gasoline, were found outside Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Chia-chen’s (盧嘉辰) office in New Taipei City (新北市).
After discovering the two suitcases on the train, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC, 台灣高鐵) evacuated 600 passengers at Taoyuan Station and police removed the cases for investigation.
Officers searched the train for evidence and the platform for trains bound for Taipei was temporarily closed during the removal of the suitcases, the company said.
It said it had not received any threats prior to the incident.
A middle-aged man dressed in police rain gear is suspected of planting explosives outside Lu’s office, according to video footage released by the legislator’s office on Sunday.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said they had completed an analysis of the explosive devices found on the train and outside Lu’s office, and said that had they gone off, the devices would have emitted poison gas.
The devices were connected to materials with an alarm clock, using a wire as a conduit.
Police said the perpetrators may have attempted to ignite the gasoline to cause the gas to explode. The investigation also found that while the way the devices were made was nearly identical, the chemical compounds used in them were different. The device at Lu’s office was a simple explosive device.
The task force investigating the case said it had found an SUV it believed had been used by the suspects at a privately owned parking lot near Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, adding that surveillance cameras at the parking lot had also recorded images of what seemed to be two men. The task force said the pair appeared to change clothes before they arrived at the airport on Friday night and that they had told the parking attendant they would return on April 19.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
NEGOTIATIONS: Taiwan has good relations with Washington and the outlook for the negotiations looks promising, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo said Taiwan’s GDP growth this year is expected to decrease by 0.43 to 1.61 percentage points due to the effects of US tariffs, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei yesterday, citing a preliminary estimate by a private research institution. Taiwan’s economy would be significantly affected by the 32 percent “reciprocal” tariffs slapped by the US, which took effect yesterday, Liu said, adding that GDP growth could fall below 3 percent and potentially even dip below 2 percent to 1.53 percent this year. The council has commissioned another institution
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS