Police hunt for suspect in High Speed Rail dagger incident

Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) Police are searching for a man who attacked a female passenger and stabbed a tray table with a dagger on a northbound Taiwan High Speed Rail train Saturday.

The incident did not affect train operations, and the case has been reported to the police, according to the Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp.

The Railway Police Bureau said it was notified at 11:43 a.m. that a conflict began when the train stopped at Miaoli Station. A female passenger, surnamed Liu (劉), tried to enter carriage No. 10 but found a man sitting on the floor, blocking the entrance.

Liu stepped over the man to enter the carriage, prompting him to yell and punch her, leaving her cheek swollen.

The man later vented his anger at Liu again while the train was traveling between Banqiao Station in New Taipei and Taipei.

Although other passengers attempted to calm him by offering him a seat, he eventually lost his temper, pulling a dagger about 30 centimeters long from his backpack and stabbing it into a tray table. He then left the knife on the train and fled when it arrived at Taipei Station.

A male passenger who witnessed parts of the incident wrote in an Instagram story: "[I] almost died on the High Speed Rail train."

"This woman likely had a fight with that guy (didn't record that). The guy attempted to stab her with a knife," he wrote in another story. "They were in the front of the carriage and I was in the middle of it. Suddenly, someone shouted there was a knife, and then everyone ran toward the exit."

The police are still trying to identify the man and are reviewing CCTV footage to track his movements. They said they are considering handling the case as an offense of endangering public safety under the Criminal Code.

Personnel from the Railway Police Bureau's Taipei branch inspected the scene and confiscated the dagger as evidence. It will be sent to the Taipei City Police Department to determine if the suspect violated the Firearms, Ammunition, and Knives Control Act.