Man who showered on local train, flooding carriage to be fined

Taipei, April 27 (CNA) A man who took a shower in the bathroom of a Taiwan Railway Corp. local train Sunday, causing water to spill out into the carriage, has been identified and will be fined, according to the Railway Police Bureau.

In a press release, the Railway Police Bureau's Taipei Precinct said it received a report at 9 a.m. Sunday about a passenger suspected of showering on the No. 1136 local train from Hukou, Hsinchu County to Ruifang, New Taipei.

Railway Police officers responding to the call boarded the train at Taipei Station, by which time the person had already left, the statement said.

A video shared on Threads, meanwhile, showed several passengers on the train standing outside the bathroom's closed door, as streams of water leaked out and spread across the floor of the carriage.

"Someone is showering on the train and the whole carriage is full of water," the person wrote in the post, which had over 17,000 "likes" as of Monday.

The train carriage in question has a "multi-functional bathroom" that includes a metal hose and spray nozzle for use by cleaners, which appears to be what the man used to shower.

Using surveillance video footage, police later identified the individual as a man in his 50s surnamed Pan (潘), who is known to hang around Taipei Station, approaching travelers with fabricated stories and asking to borrow money.

He has previously been charged with fraud and larceny in connection with those activities, the bureau said.

Regarding Pan's unauthorized bathing, the bureau said it planned to fine him under Article 71 of the Railway Act, which mandates a NT$1,500 (US$47.68) to NT$7,500 for various types of misbehavior on trains.