The mother of a four-year-old girl who was decapitated in an apparently random attack in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) on Monday has urged the public to donate money to needy charitable organizations instead of her family.
Flowers, toys, gifts and messages were left on a sidewalk near the Xihu Elementary School in Neihu District, close to where the toddler — nicknamed Xiao Deng Pao (小燈泡, little lightbulb) — was killed.
The girl’s mother, who has identified only as Clair Wang, said that a mourning hall for her daughter has been set up near the Taipei City No. 1 Funeral Parlor on Minquan E Road, and called on people to visit and write condolence messages on prepared cards.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
She also called on the public to leave their hatred behind them, urging an end to attacks between people with different opinions on capital punishment and criminal justice issues.
She also said that she does not support any organization that tries to use the case and her daughter’s name for its own agenda.
Meanwhile, political commentators and government officials condemned the Taipei Police Department for releasing information from a preliminary investigation that said Wang Ching-yu (王景玉), the suspect in the brutal killing, had a history of mental illness and had exhibited eccentric behavior for some time.
Political commentator Wang Rui-de (王瑞德) said it is the job of prosecutors and other judicial agencies to consider all evidence and witness testimonies to determine if cases should be prosecuted and if a suspect is fit to stand trial.
“The police officials pronounced that Wang [Ching-yu] clearly has a mental disorder, but they based it only on sketchy evidence, a few interviews with Wang [Ching-yu’s] family and some neighbors, while the investigation is still in an early phase,” Wang Rui-de said. “These officials are taking over the judicial duties of prosecutors and judges. They are subverting the due process of law.”
The issue was raised when police released the details of a preliminary investigation on Tuesday, one day after the girl’s killing, which said Wang [Ching-yu] had a history of mental health issues. It also seemed to blame random knife attacks on the nation’s health system and called for better monitoring and follow-up treatment of mental health patients.
Separately, judicial officials yesterday said that Wang Ching-yu was punched at the Taipei Detention Center where he was being held, but added that he was not injured.
He was reportedly attacked by two other detainees who were sent to a cell to repair the floor.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat
RSS