The prosecution in Taiwan will seek the death penalty in the case against 21-year old Cheng Chieh, who stabbed four commuters and wounded almost two dozens on the Taipei subway in May.

The former college student was Monday charged for four accounts of murder and 22 accounts of attempted murder, after he went amok with a knife in a subway train.

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The murders have chocked Taiwan that has a normally low rate of violent crime. Never before has anything like this happened in the subway system since it began operating in 1966, AFP reports.

Prosecutors said that the deeds of Cheng fit the definition of a mass murder, and asked the court to sentence him to death.

Psychological tests show that Cheng was not in a state of mental disorder when he committed the crime. Instead the forensic psychologists described him as anti-social, narcissistic and immature.

"As a student in elementary school he wowed to kill in revenge for the trouble he had getting along with his classmates," they said.

Even Cheng's devastated parents want a death sentence for their son.

"Even if he is our child, a death sentence might help ease the pain inflicted on those he killed and their families," the sobbing father told the press, calling his son's actions unforgiveable. "We hope our son will act better in his next life." 

In Taiwan, executions are either carried out by a single shot to the heart from the back, or a bullet to the back of the head, if the prisoner agrees to donate his organs.

The Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation lost passenger volume equivalent to around 945,000 in the 10 days following the attack. Several commuters also suffered minor injuries as scared travelers stampeded from the subway a few times because of false alarms. 

TagsTaipei subway