Cheng Chieh was a Taiwanese man who carried out a stabbing attack on a Taipei Metro train on 21 May 2014, killing four people and injuring 24 others. The attack was the first fatal assault on the city's subway system since it opened in 1996. Cheng, then 21, was arrested after the incident, sentenced to death in addition to 144 years in prison, and executed on 10 May 2016.
The attack
The attack took place on a Bannan Line train travelling between Longshan Temple Station in Taipei and Jiangzicui Station in New Taipei City, a stretch lasting three to five minutes, the longest between any two stations in the system. The assailant pursued and struck passengers with a fruit knife about 30 centimetres long. Some passengers used umbrellas to keep their distance, while others loudly taunted him in an attempt to deter him. Police, passengers and metro staff subdued him when the train reached Jiangzicui Station.
Background and motive
Cheng was born in 1993 in Banqiao District and grew up with few friends. Before the attack he had written about plans to kill and had shown interest in violent games, and he had changed schools several times. During questioning he said he wanted to do something shocking and big, that he had planned the attack since childhood, and that he wanted the death penalty. Authorities said no other motive was known.
Reactions
The attack prompted a national response. President Ma Ying-jeou ordered an investigation, and the Legislative Yuan called for increased police deployment on metro systems, railways and airports. Taipei authorities stationed officers at each of the city's metro stations, and the transit operator offered to cover the victims' medical costs and set aside funds for their families.