Man tries to 'barbecue' steak knife on Taipei MRT

男子試圖在台北捷運上“火烤”牛排刀

Man takes out steak knife and starts to 'barbecue' it with a lighter near the Banqiao Station of the Taipei Metro


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- A man horrified passengers yesterday afternoon (Dec. 19) when he took out a steak knife and held a lighter to it in an attempt to "barbecue" (燒烤) it while nearing the Banqiao Station of the Taipei MRT.

Yesterday evening, a 28-year-old unemployed man surnamed Wang (王) boarded the Taipei MRT Bannan Line (Blue Line) in New Taipei City bound for the Nangang Exhibition Center. At around 5:40 p.m., while riding between Far Eastern Hospital and Fuzhong stations, Wang suddenly pulled out a steak knife from his bag and then took out a lighter to start to "barbecue" the knife, possibly meaning that he was attempting to temper the blade, reported Mirror Media.

The man's bizarre act terrified passengers in the carriage and someone called the police. Over 10 police officers were quickly deployed to the next stop, Banqiao Station, where they lay in wait for Wang, reported TVBS.

As soon as the rear door of the train opened, officers poured into the carriage and quickly worked together to subdue and arrest Wang.

During questioning by police, Wang said that he wanted to use the lighter to "barbecue" the knife to "make it a little sharper," and had no intention of hurting anyone, reported ETtoday. Wang claimed that he bought the knife in Ximending the previous day and was planning to take the MRT from Taipei City Hall Station to Xindian (Songshan-Xindian Line station), but he when he arrived at Haishan Station, he realized he took the wrong train, and so he switched trains to go in the opposite direction, according to Mirror Media.

There were no injuries reported in the incident and police are currently investigating the motive of Wang's actions.