Smell of smoke: S’porean recounts train ride past Taipei station as deadly attack started to unfold
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After the incident, Mr Ming Wing Cheong made a post on Facebook reassuring loved ones he was safely back at the hotel.
PHOTOS: COURTESY OF MING WING CHEONG, BILLY H.C. KWOK/NYTIMES
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SINGAPORE – For Singaporean Ming Wing Cheong on holiday in Taipei, the first sign that something was amiss on Dec 19 was when the train he was on abruptly stopped between stations.
An announcement over the train’s broadcast system then said the train would be skipping the next stop, Taipei Main Station, because of a fire, he recalled.
As the train travelled past Taipei Main Station, Mr Ming detected the smell of smoke. “The doors were closed and the train did not stop, but I could smell the smoke,” he said.
The 43-year-old educator, as well as the other passengers on the train, did not know it then, but a deadly attack was starting to unfold at Taipei Main Station
A suspect had set off multiple smoke bombs in the station during the evening rush hour on Dec 19.
For Mr Ming, the second sign that something was wrong came when he alighted from the train at Ximen, the stop after Taipei Main Station.
“There were a lot more people at the station than usual,” he told The Straits Times in a phone interview in Mandarin.
He said it looked like many people had alighted at the same station, and an announcement about an emergency at Taipei Main Station came over the broadcast system.
There was no panic in the air, said Mr Ming. Passengers were more confused about their trips being disrupted on account of the skipped station, he added.
It was only when he exited the station and trawled social media that he learnt about the deadly attack.
During the Dec 19 evening rush hour, the 27-year-old suspect had gone on a stabbing rampage after setting off multiple smoke bombs in Taipei’s main subway station.
The violent crime, a rare occurrence in Taiwan, saw three members of the public killed and at least 11 others wounded.
The suspect died after falling off a building during a police chase, and the authorities have vowed a full inquiry into the incident.
According to preliminary investigations, the suspect, who had an outstanding warrant for evading military service, is believed to have acted alone
Mr Ming, who has been in Taiwan since Dec 4 and is in Taipei on his own, is unfazed by the attack. His friends, though, have urged him to stay safe.
The incident has changed little for his holiday. “The only disruption this caused was that I avoided Taipei Main Station due to possible road closures.”
Mr Ming is scheduled to return to Singapore on Dec 22, and has no plans to cut his trip short due to the attack.
The Singapore Trade Office in Taipei said on Dec 20 that there are no reports of Singaporeans
