Man arrested for deliberately driving into Presidential Office flower bed

Taipei, July 1 (CNA) A man was arrested after he apparently deliberately drove into a raised flower bed in front of the Presidential Office Monday afternoon.

No one was injured in the incident.

The man, surnamed Tu (杜), was driving a white car, the body of which he had decorated with slogans written in red paint that read "national cognitive warfare," "information security invasion SOS," "AI transformation" and "major country."

The 49-year-old man drove to the intersection of Chongqing South Road and Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, accelerated and seemingly on purpose crashed into the raised flower bed at around 4:41 p.m., according to the police.

Police from the local Zhongzheng First Precinct of Taipei City Police Department who were already at the scene, arrested Tu and took him back to the precinct where he was interrogated and a sobriety test conducted.

Initial observations indicated that Tu had not been drinking.

Prior to the incident, he had driven the same car in front of the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei's Neihu District and repeatedly honked his horn at 3:13 p.m.

When police tried to stop him, Tu refused to exit the car, saying he was only expressing his demands which were spray-painted on the vehicle.

Tu eventually left after the police urged him to leave the scene, after which he drove to the Presidential Office.