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Parents come forward after Taiwan campus attack

Relatives of the attacker came to identify his body while victim’s parents are waiting for their son’s recovery in the emergency room

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Parents come forward after Taiwan campus attack

(CNA photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – A horrifying acid attack at the National Taiwan University (NTU) campus resulted in the death of the attacker and injuries for three victims, with parents from both sides coming forward Friday.

At midnight Oct. 19, a male graduate student from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (Taiwan Tech) surnamed Chang (張) became involved in a heated argument with a student surnamed Hsieh (謝), which escalated with Chang tossing acid, and injuring Hsieh, another student named Lo (駱) and a female security guard named Ku (谷) before committing suicide, reports said.

Chang found dead at the scene while Hsieh was immediately sent to the emergency room.

In an interview with police, Chang's parents said their son once introduced Hsieh as his good friend and took him to their house in the past. Police also found that the two had quarreled several times. Once they met each other last night, they promptly started a heated argument lasting up to 20 minutes, a witness revealed.

As for Hsieh's parents, they accused Chang of being an irresponsible person. Hsieh's father said: "He just made a mess then left quietly, leaving two families facing a big loss."

Local media speculated about the nature of the love affair which might have been at the origin of the fatal spat. A few days before the attack, Chang posted a song by Eason Chan with lyrics about tragic love and death on his Facebook page, leading the Chinese-language Apple Daily to infer that a gay love affair might have been at the root of the dispute.

Parents come forward after Taiwan campus attack

Chang posted a song with lyrics about lovelorn and death, called Hei Ze Ming by singer Eason Chan

(Image from Chang's Facebook page)

In an interview with the Apple Daily, the secretary general of Taiwan Tech, Dr. Huang Ching-tung (黃慶東), said Chang appeared to be a normal student with no record of psychological problems and who was supposed to graduate today.

However, Chang's important date has now become a day of gloom for the families of the victims. Hsieh was reportedly undergoing emergency treatment due to the extensive nature of the burns caused by the acid, reports said.