Taipei subway stabber says killing four people was 'nice'

A Taiwanese student who stabbed four people to death and injured 21 on the Taipei subway told police he felt 'nice' after the incident. 

21 year old Cheng Chieh boarded a train from downtown to nearby New Taipei City on Wednesday and began stabbing riders randomly during the nearly four minute ride. 

“[Cheng] also told us he chose to commit the crime from Lungshan Temple station to Jiangzicui station because he knew the ride – the longest between stops – would give him more time to kill,” a police investigator said.

Passengers rushed out of the attacker’s train car when it arrived at Jiangzicui on the metro’s main east-west line, shouting for people on the platform to flee, according to news reports. Photos showed a train car floor and the station platform next to it splattered with blood.

Cheng was arrested after he tried to attack more passengers fleeing the carriage when the train stopped at Jiangzicui.

He was taken into custody at the Taipei Detention Centre yesterday morning, following lengthy questioning by police investigators.

It was the first such attack on the Taipei metro system since it started operations in 1996.

Police said Cheng confessed he had wanted to do "something big" since childhood and had fantasised about a killing spree on the subway. 

Cheng is reportedly hoping for the death penalty, saying he had no courage to kill himself and wanted the government to do it for him. 

“I feel extremely shocked and hurt by this grave event,” President Ma Ying-jeou said on Facebook. He has told the cabinet to “order the National Police Agency to do all it can to check into the situation behind this case”.

[Image via Ming Pao]