New Taipei man detained for stalking student, attacking 2 who intervened

Taipei, April 30 (CNA) A 41-year-old man suspected of stalking a female high school student as she walked home from school, and then attacking her grandmother and a neighborhood chief when they tried to intervene, has been detained by New Taipei City prosecutors.

The New Taipei District Court approved prosecutors' request late Wednesday to detain the man, surnamed You (游), on suspicion of aggravated assault and stalking, given the risk that he could re-offend or try to flee.

According to the New Taipei Police Department's Luzhou Precinct, the 18-year-old high school student was walking home from school around 4 p.m. Tuesday when You began following her.

The student called her grandmother, who came out to the front gate of their apartment complex to stop You, only to be attacked by him, suffering a broken nose and ruptured liver, police said.

In addition to assaulting the grandmother, You also attacked and injured a neighborhood chief who tried to intervene, and was only stopped when several other bystanders came forward to restrain him.

According to police sources, You has been reported eight times since 2023 for sexually harassing female students. In six of the cases, victims filed criminal complaints, which mostly led to him being sentenced to short-term detention for under 60 days.

You was sentenced last March to 120 days in detention, but released early in May, police sources said.

According to local media reports, You, who has a government-issued disability certificate, is unemployed and lives with his family in the neighborhood near Luzhou District's Minzhu Road where the incident occurred.

In their request to detain You, prosecutors said Wednesday that the charges they are considering -- aggravated assault, assault and stalking -- carry a minimum sentence of more than 5 years.

The allegations against You sparked outrage on Taiwanese social media Wednesday, as well as frustration that the legal system had failed to prevent the crime despite his multiple previous offenses.