Police arrested a 73-year-old woman involved in a viral Taipei Metro incident Wednesday morning on an outstanding warrant. The incident, which sparked debate about public behavior and social norms, occurred earlier this week on the Red Line. Authorities took the woman, surnamed Tseng, into custody over a theft-related warrant.
The confrontation happened Monday afternoon at Xinyi Anhe Station. A video showed Tseng approaching a young man sitting in a priority seat. She demanded he give up the seat, but the man refused. The woman then swung her tote bag and struck him several times. Afterward, the man stood up and kicked Tseng, causing her to fall across the carriage.
Following the video’s rapid spread on social media Tuesday, the Taipei Metro confirmed the altercation. A station manager responded to a passenger’s report via intercom and intervened, but operations on the Red Line continued uninterrupted. Neither party pressed charges regarding the incident.
On Wednesday, social media posts surfaced showing Tseng’s arrest outside a convenience store on Yanping North Road. Taipei Police said she was arrested on a warrant issued Tuesday by the Shilin District Prosecutors Office for larceny. Reports indicated Tseng had a prior record, including multiple shoplifting arrests in 2023. In June, Tseng was sentenced to 55 days in prison for theft but failed to report to serve her sentence. This prompted authorities to issue the warrant leading to her recent arrest. Police plan to question her and then hand her over to the prosecutors.
The Taipei Police Department’s Rapid Transit Division announced plans to summon both Tseng and the young man involved in the confrontation. Authorities will question them for potential violations of the Social Order Maintenance Act, highlighting concerns about public conduct on transit systems. The case underscores ongoing challenges related to priority seating enforcement, social respect, and legal accountability within Taiwan’s public transportation network.
