TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A man assaulted a male patient with a 45-cm-long saw in a hospital emergency room in central Taiwan on Sunday (June 11).
The incident occurred at 4:31 a.m. on Sunday morning in the emergency room of the Changhua Christian Hospital. A man surnamed Hsu (許) was being treated when the assailant, a man surnamed Lin (林), arrived and started looking for Hsu, reported TVBS.
When Lin spotted Hsu, he rushed forward and punched Hsu on the right side of his face. Lin then took out a 45-cm-long saw and swung it at Hsu's stomach. However, a nurse and security guards were able to quickly subdue Lin.
As Hsu only suffered small puncture wounds from the saw and no serious injuries, he did not press charges against Lin.
When police were notified of the assault, they rushed to the scene and took Lin to the police station. Lin told the officers that he and Hsu had been friends for many years and that the altercation was the result of a dispute between the two.
Lin refused to disclose the exact cause of their argument. After the police finished questioning Lin, they transferred him to the prosecutor's office to be investigated for violating the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
Second security guard takes saw as another guard and nurse hold Lin's arms. (Changhua County Police Department screenshot)
In response to the incident, Changhua Christian Hospital emphasized that it places great importance on ensuring the safety of patients and that their security guards have received professional training. According to the hospital, Lin had concealed the saw in his clothing.
Although security guards did not notice anything suspicious about Lin, the hospital said that they were quick to take action when he assaulted Hsu and were able to prevent Lin from seriously injuring the patient. The hospital pledged to strengthen its security measures to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Saw seized from Lin at the scene of the assault. (Changhua County Police Department photo)
