Taiwan Railway tracks injected with cement! Man nearly caused a train derailment and was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison.
- byVic

讀後心得
On the afternoon of January 1 this year, Taiwan Railways train No. 3201 discovered concrete covers and groove seats on the tracks while passing from Tainan's Houbil to Xinying Station. The train conductor immediately applied the brakes to avoid an accident. Upon investigation, it was found that these items were placed by a man surnamed Huang, who was feeling down after a breakup with his girlfriend and decided to tamper with railway safety. As a result, he was sentenced to 2 years and 10 months in prison, with the case eligible for appeal. The police emphasized that endangering railway safety is a serious crime.
Tainan City experienced a train safety incident on the afternoon of January 1 this year. A train on the 3201 route, traveling between the Tainan Houbi and Xinying stations, noticed concrete cover plates and groove seats on the tracks. The train conductor promptly applied the emergency brakes, fortunately preventing the train from derailing. Investigations revealed that these items were placed by a man surnamed Huang, an outsourced contractor for the High-Speed Rail Bureau. Huang stated in court that he felt depressed after breaking up with his girlfriend and thought it would be amusing, which led him to make this erroneous decision. Consequently, the court classified him as an attempted offender, with no possibility of reduced sentencing, ultimately sentencing him to two years and ten months of imprisonment, with the right to appeal.
Surveillance footage showed that at the time of the incident, the crossing gate was already lowered, prohibiting vehicle passage. Shortly after, the Taiwan Railway train sped past but suddenly braked and stopped because the conductor noticed an unidentified object on the tracks. The incident occurred at 1:40 PM on January 1, 2025, when the 3201 train heading to Chaozhou Station passed from Houbi to Xinying Station and encountered the concrete cover plates and groove seats that had been deliberately placed there by the man surnamed Huang. Although Huang's actions did not cause the train to derail or result in casualties, the train's protective device was damaged.
The captain of the investigation team from the Kaohsiung branch of the Railway Police Bureau stated that the bureau has strengthened safety maintenance on Taiwan's railway lines and warned that any actions endangering railway safety are serious violations of the law. Despite Huang expressing a willingness to compensate, the court still deemed that he did not meet the conditions for reduced sentencing, and the sentence was upheld as previously stated, with the option for appeal remaining.