TAIPEI (Taiwan News) -- Two good Samaritans rescued a woman as she was being robbed by two men wielding knives in a RT-Mart parking lot in western Taiwan.
At 10 a.m. this morning, a 52-year-old woman surnamed Yeh (葉) had parked her car in the parking lot of an RT-Mart in Puxin Township in Changhua County, when one of two gangsters wearing motorcycle helmets and brandishing watermelon knives suddenly opened her car's back door, and held a knife to her neck, according to local reports. Meanwhile, the other robber flung open her vehicle's front door, shouted "this is a robbery," and ripped her bag from her hands.
Two deliverymen noticed the commotion and asked Yeh, "what happened?" Yeh then took advantage of the distraction to try to break away from the robbers, however, in the ensuing struggle, she suffered lacerations to her left arm, which later required medical attention.
Police officer investigates scene of the crime. (Photo from Changhua Police)
Police said that one of the men spotted 49-year-old suspect surnamed Liu (劉) still standing outside Yeh's car at the time and quickly subdued him. The other suspect, a 47-year-old man surnamed Hung (洪) fled the scene, but left Yeh's purse behind.
Police tracked Hung's movements and pinpointed the location of his home in Changhua's Lukang Township. They lay in wait for Hung at his home and when he appeared at 12 p.m., police immediately arrested him, reported China Times.
During police questioning, the men confessed to the crime and said they did it because they were short of money to buy drugs. After police questioning, the men were transferred to the Changhua Prosecutor's Office on charges of robbery.
Suspect Liu. (Photo from Changhua Police)
As she escaped from the robbers, Yeh suffered a cut to her arm which required three stitches. Yeh was reportedly so traumatized by the incident that she felt powerless afterwards, and said, "I'll never go shopping at RT-Mart again."
Yeh then added that she was very grateful to the two heroes who bravely rescued her.
Watermelon knife purchased for NT$75 before the robbery. (Photo from Changhua Police)
