Parents of Taiwan metro murderer kneel & bow in apology, victim's mother urges public not to blame them

The parents of Chang Wen, the Taipei metro attacker who killed three and injured 11 in a knife and smoke-bomb attack on the night of Dec. 19, kneeled in apology to the public for their son's actions.

The pair appeared before Taiwanese media outside the morgue where an autopsy has been performed on their son, who fell from the roof of a six-story department store while being chased by police.

"The heinous crimes that Chang Wen committed brought harm to society, and inflicted irreparable harm and pain to the families of the victims," they said.

"We want to apologise to everyone once again," the middle-aged pair added before kneeling down on the ground and bowing to the cameras thrice.

They also promised to fully cooperate with investigations, before leaving the scene.

Victim's mother mourns son

One of Chang Wen's victims, 57-year old Yu Chia Chang who was stabbed while trying to stop Chang, later died in hospital.

His actions prevented the detonation of multiple explosive devices and further casualties, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said, according to Focus Taiwan.

Yu's mother, who is in her 80s, said on Dec. 22 that she was proud of her son though heartbroken at his death.

It was a comfort to know that her son had saved many people, she told the media in a press interview.

Yu was said to have texted her every morning to say good morning and would usually return home by 6:30pm every Saturday.

That weekend, he neither came home nor called to explain his absence.

Friends and relatives had initially withheld the news from her out of concern that she would be overwhelmed by grief, she said, but she eventually found out about Yu's death after seeing reports about a victim who fit his description and called her daughter-in-law to confirm the news.

The octogenarian concluded her interview by urging the public not to blame Chang's parents, while offering her own condolences, 8world reported.

The incident has already happened and the suspect is dead, she said.

A motion has been adopted calling for Yu to be enshrined at the Taoyuan Martyrs' Shrine.

Top images via Taiwanese media