MRT knife attack suspect transferred to prosecutors after injuring student

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) A woman who randomly attacked a senior high school student with a utility knife on a Taipei Metro train late Friday, injuring his face, has been transferred to prosecutors on suspicion of assault, police said.

According to New Taipei police, the incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station around 10:17 p.m. when a passenger was injured on a Bannan line train heading toward Dingpu.

Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect who is in her early 40s and surnamed Wang (王), she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer.

The injured student, who sustained a roughly 3-centimeter cut on his face, was taken to Far Eastern Memorial Hospital for treatment and is in stable condition after basic bandaging by emergency medical personnel arriving at the scene, police said.

According to the 17-year-old student, he did not know Wang, police said.

Witnesses said on social media that many people were screaming, running and falling on the train car during the attack, making the scene "resemble a zombie movie."

According to Chinese-language newspaper United Daily News, Wang is a repeat offender who had previously been involved in arguments at MRT stations.

She is suspected of suffering from auditory hallucinations and allegedly attacked the student after suspecting he had spoken ill of her, the newspaper reported.

Update

Nov. 10: Court approves detention of suspect in MRT knife attack