Taipei knife attack: 57-year-old who tried to stop attacker died from wound that pierced heart
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The Dec 19 Taipei knife attack left three people dead and at least 11 injured.
PHOTO: EPA
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One of the three people who died during the Dec 19 Taipei knife attack
On Dec 19, 27-year-old Chang Wen
The 57-year-old hero, surnamed Yu, tried to stop Chang but later died, reported English-language daily Taipei Times on Dec 21, citing Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an.
He sustained a 5cm-deep wound that went from his right lung to the left atrium of his heart, according to the National Taiwan University Hospital.
Mr Yu’s family will receive at least NT$5 million (S$205,000) under Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s insurance coverage.
Additionally, a contact window has been set up to provide psychological counselling and legal consultation to those who were injured and families of the deceased.
A lawyer will also be assigned to each injured person and each of the dead victims’ families to help with insurance claims and compensation.
A witness told Taipei Times that she saw a victim collapse as Chang went on his rampage.
As members of the public rushed to help, the victim told the witness: “Remember to tell my parents that I love them.”
The witness later found out that the victim had died, and managed to relay the final words to the relatives after the victim’s colleagues contacted her.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said on Dec 20 that the government will step up police presence in crowded areas, and law enforcement agencies will ensure rapid response to disturbances.
Victims urged to get tested after one found to be HIV-positive
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has urged victims and those who came into contact with blood during the attack to get tested for HIV after it was revealed that one of the injured is HIV-positive, reported Taipei Times.
Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) deputy director-general Philip Lo said that the risk of infection from blood exposure is generally low – less than 0.01 per cent.
He cited a 2006 stabbing incident in Berlin that wounded 33 people, one of whom was HIV-positive. Thirty-one of the injured were given PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis) – which is administered after a potential exposure – and none was infected.
The HIV-positive victim in the Taipei attack has been taking oral medication regularly to control the virus, so the viral load and transmission risk are low, said Dr Lo.
“However, the possibility of other people’s open wounds or mucous membranes having been exposed to the (HIV-positive) person’s blood through the perpetrator’s weapon cannot be ruled out,” Dr Lo said, adding that administering PEP to the other victims can almost eliminate their HIV infection risk.
As such, the CDC has initiated a special programme to help them.
Those who were wounded or came into contact with other people’s blood should call the CDC’s hotline and they will be evaluated on whether they need PEP, he said.
If needed, they should go to a hospital and get PEP administered within the “golden hours” – 72 hours following exposure – to reduce their infection risk.
