Taiwan might be a relatively safe place, but knife crime appears to be on the rise, with people being hacked, slashed and injured in several incidents over the past few days.
On Saturday, a 52-year-old man, surnamed Ko (柯) had, after drinking, allegedly stopped in the middle of Dadao Road in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) with a 30cm knife and randomly assaulted passing scooter riders, police reports said.
Ko allegedly dragged one 50 year-old male rider, surnamed Liu (劉), off his vehicle. By the time two other riders had stopped Ko and police arrived at the scene, Liu had been stabbed somewhere near the throat, and had wounds on his body, arms and legs, the reports said.
Ko claimed he did not remember the incident and that his actions were influenced by alcohol. His breath alcohol test returned a reading of 0.63 milligrams per liter.
He has been charged with attempted murder and assault, and the Taipei District Court has approved prosecutors’ request that he be detained, police said.
In another incident, a woman surnamed Weng (翁), who works at a betelnut stand in Taichung’s Shengang District (神岡), on Monday said that at about 11am, a man in a blue shirt had charged into her stand and started hacking at her.
The Taichung City Police Department apprehended the man, surnamed Chen (陳), at 8:30pm the same day, and charged him with attempted manslaughter.
In another case, a 28-year-old woman, surnamed Huang (黃), was allegedly brandishing a knife near an alley on Heping E Road in Taipei’s Daan District (大安), resulting in a 24-year-old American woman suffering scratches on her shoulder.
The Taipei City Police Department said it has transferred Huang’s case to the prosecutors’ office and he might be charged with obstruction of freedom and assault.
In Taichung, the police department’s Second Precinct said that on Sunday afternoon, it saw on Facebook a video clip of a delivery man on a scooter who appeared to waving a knife in public.
Taichung police said it had not received any officials reports about the incident, but as the rider’s action posed a danger to the public, they had apprehended the 31-year-old rider, surnamed Wang (王), at 4:44pm on Sunday.
Police quoted Wang as saying that he was brandishing the knife “on a whim” and did not have any disputes or altercations with others.
He was charged with contravening the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) and his case has been sent for summary ruling at the Taichung District Court, police said.
Additional reporting by Cheng Ching-yi and CNA
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