Man Indicted for Reporting False Information like "Murder, Fire" on Taipei Metro

A 35-year-old man from Kaohsiung, identified as Mr. Zheng, who is suspected of having a mental disorder, has been indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for threatening the public by posting false information like "murder" and "fire" on the Taipei Metro AI smart customer service reporting system. He allegedly did this twice in January and February. He was reportedly suffering from mental illness, and a request for temporary placement was approved by the court. The indictment states that on December 19, 2025 (114th year of the Republic of China), a perpetrator had already caused panic and casualties in Taipei City's Taipei Main Station and Xinyi District's Nanxi commercial area using smoke bombs and knives. Exploiting the public's fear of such events, Mr. Zheng, with the intent to threaten the public, used his mobile phone to connect to the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation's AI smart customer service robot system on January 17th at 4 PM and February 23rd at 7 PM, leaving messages including "Wenhu Line," "fire," and "murder" – all untrue. Police received reports and tracked down Mr. Zheng, transferring him to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for investigation. After questioning, the prosecutor determined that Mr. Zheng might have had a mental disorder at the time of the offense, and a request for provisional placement was approved by the Taipei District Court. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation today and indicted Mr. Zheng on charges of threatening the public under the Penal Code.