After two Taipei MRT stations were the scenes of consecutive attacks during last Friday’s evening rush hour, a netizen posted on social media predicting that Kaohsiung Station would be the next target. Following a search operation executed by the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office, a male university student surnamed Chen was taken into custody. After questioning, he was released on bail of NT$50,000 (about RM6,500) on suspicion of intimidating the public.
The 27-year-old suspect, Zhang Wen, carried out random attacks on ordinary people last Friday evening (December 19) at Taipei Main Station and Zhongshan Station, resulting in four deaths and 11 injuries. Following these attacks, a netizen posted on the social platform Threads, predicting Kaohsiung Station would be the next target, saying, “A bigger incident will take place at Kaohsiung Station on December 25,” which drew serious attention from Kaohsiung prosecutors and police.
According to reports from Liberty Times and China Times News Network, investigators traced the IP address of the original post to Vietnam. A Kaohsiung university student surnamed Chen, who studies electrical engineering, after attempting to log in to the original poster’s account, also registered a new account, then copied and forwarded the content of the post.
On Saturday (December 20), prosecutors and investigators launched a search and brought the student surnamed Chen in for questioning; he denied any intention to intimidate, claimed he did not know Zhang Wen, and argued that he only forwarded the post “to remind everyone to stay alert.”
On Saturday (December 20), prosecutors and investigators launched a search and brought the student surnamed Chen in for questioning; he denied any intention to intimidate, claimed he did not know Zhang Wen, and argued that he only forwarded the post “to remind everyone to stay alert.”
On Sunday (December 21), the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office issued a press release explaining that, after the random killings at Taipei Main Station, a netizen posted on Threads about planning “a bigger event at Kaohsiung Station on December 25” and made remarks intimidating public safety.
According to the prosecutors, under the command of Chief Prosecutor Su Hengyi and Prosecutor Cai Tingjie, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Task Force and the Fengshan branch of Kaohsiung City Investigation Office carried out the search on Saturday and detained the suspect, Chen.
Prosecutors pointed out that Chen's actions are suspected of violating criminal law by intimidating the public, and due to the seriousness of the case, bail was set at NT$50,000.
According to the prosecutors, under the command of Chief Prosecutor Su Hengyi and Prosecutor Cai Tingjie, the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau’s Cyber Security Task Force and the Fengshan branch of Kaohsiung City Investigation Office carried out the search on Saturday and detained the suspect, Chen.
Prosecutors pointed out that Chen's actions are suspected of violating criminal law by intimidating the public, and due to the seriousness of the case, bail was set at NT$50,000.
The Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office said that to prevent terrorist attacks, the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office has instructed prosecutors offices across the island to establish emergency response teams against terrorist attacks. The Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office, with its chief and other prosecutors, has formed communication platforms with district police, investigation units, and the Immigration Agency to maintain regular contact and information sharing to prevent terrorist attacks.