TV stars' son indicted over homemade flamethrower, firearms

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Sun An-tso (孫安佐), the son of Taiwanese television personalities Sun Peng (孫鵬) and Di Ying (狄鶯), was indicted Monday on firearms and public intimidation charges after prosecutors accused him of manufacturing and publicly testing a homemade flamethrower and illegally possessing several weapons.

Sun, who has legally changed his name to Sun Chien-hao (孫健豪), was indicted by the Shilin District Prosecutors Office on charges of illegally possessing firearms, including an unregistered shotgun, under the Firearms, Ammunition, and Knives Control Act, as well as endangering public safety and intimidating the public under the Criminal Code.

Sun had been held incommunicado since May 17 after prosecutors successfully sought his detention. The case was transferred Monday to the Shilin District Court, which will decide whether to extend his detention.

According to prosecutors, Sun used a shoulder-mounted homemade flamethrowing device on seven occasions between Jan. 15 and May 1, including two public tests in Taipei and New Taipei on April 22 with a friend surnamed Chen (陳).

During the tests, Sun opened the gas valve to maximum output to gauge the device's power on public roads, hiking paths and in parking lots.

The tests produced long-range, high-temperature flames, thick black smoke and leaking fuel that posed a danger to passing members of the public, prosecutors said.

The investigation found that a company headed by a man surnamed Chiu (邱) signed a cooperation agreement with Sun on March 28 to produce short videos, with Sun receiving NT$5,000 (US$157) per video and participating in promotional activities.

A videographer surnamed Chiang (江) handled some of the planning, filming and post-production.

On April 22, Sun proposed filming a video of the flamethrower test on an industrial road in Taipei's Beitou District. Prosecutors said Sun operated the device while Chen helped ignite it and Chiang filmed and edited the footage, which was uploaded to Sun's social media account on May 14.

Sun received NT$25,000 in total for that video and others produced under the agreement, prosecutors said.

The investigation also found that in 2018 and 2019, Sun purchased an unregistered shotgun, an air gun capable of causing injury and a banned imitation Glock pistol from online sellers for between NT$10,000 and NT$20,000 each.

Chen was also indicted on charges of endangering public safety and intimidating the public, while Chiu and Chiang were granted deferred prosecution for one year on related charges. They were each ordered to pay NT$20,000 to the public treasury and complete eight hours of legal education courses.

Sun, who is in his late 20s, drew international attention in 2018 after being arrested in the United States and charged with making threats linked to a planned school shooting in Delaware, Pennsylvania.

He later pleaded guilty to terroristic threats and weapons-related charges before being deported.