Chef arrested after ‘bloody massacre’ online threat sparks Taipei copycat fears
PUBLISHED : Friday, 30 May, 2014, 1:07pm
UPDATED : Friday, 30 May, 2014, 6:50pm
Clifford Lo [email protected]
Some of the pictures posted by the sushi chef on Facebook. A message at the top reads: “You do something big with nothing else but these.” Photo: SCMP Pictures
A sushi chef arrested for posting pictures of knives on Facebook and threatening to stage a “bloody massacre” was released on bail on Friday.
The man, surnamed Chan, 27, originally posted a message that said: "Tonight I'll carry out a bloody massacre. I'll use thse two knives to do something big".
Netizens dubbed him "Hong Kong's Cheng Chieh", who went on a rampage in a Taipei subway station on May 20, stabbing to death four passengers and injuring 21 more.
But a day later Chan said he had been referring to killing cockroaches.
"Is it surprising for a chef to possess knives? Whose home has no knives? Can't I use them to kill cockroaches? Don't overreact!" he wrote.
Chan's Facebook account was then deactivated.
He is accused of posting photographs of knives - a Japanese sword and an army knife - on Facebook on Tuesday, along with the alarming message.
Police raided Chan's home in Tsueng Kwan O on Thursday and arrested him for accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent. Officers also seized two knives from the restaurant where he worked in Sha Tin that resembled the weapons pictured on the Facebook page.
The hooded suspect was taken to police headquarters in Wan Chai, where he was questioned for hours. He was granted police bail and ordered to report back next month.
The maximum penalty for accessing a computer with criminal or dishonest intent is five years imprisonment.
