Taiwan arrests man with Japanese sword who attacked government building

A man has been arrested after using a Japanese sword to attack and injure a military police officer outside the headquarters of Taiwan's leader.

The attacker of a government building in Taiwan was arrested by police. Photo: AFP

According to BBC (UK), the incident happened in Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, on August 18.

The arrested man, identified only by his surname Lu, confessed to stealing the Japanese sword, a samurai sword, from a museum near the crime scene.

The man also carried a Chinese flag and told police he wanted to express his political views.

The attacked military policeman was taken to hospital and is now in stable condition.

AFP news agency quoted a police source as saying that Mr. Lu confessed to using a hammer to smash a display case in a history museum to steal the samurai sword.

The sword stolen by the attacker as a murder weapon was engraved with an inscription indicating it had been used in the Nanjing massacre. Photo: AFP

According to the spokesman for the Taiwanese president's office, Mr. Alex Huang, security officers stopped Mr. Lu when he entered the government building from a side door. He then slashed the shoulder of a military police officer.

The attacker's motive and other intentions are not yet clear, but Taiwanese police said they found a Chinese flag in Mr. Lu's backpack.

“He said he wanted to express his political stance by going to the leader's office (in Taiwan),” an AFP source said.

Channel News Asia (CNA) identified the man as Taiwanese. He is currently being questioned by police. Mr. Lu is unemployed and has no criminal record.

According to Tuoi Tre