A man who murdered a little girl on the streets of Taipei believes he is an ancient emperor and said he killed the girl because he thought she was from Sichuan Province, it was reported Monday.
The man, surnamed Wang killed a 4-year-old girl near Xihu metro station in Taipei on Monday, Taiwan media reported.
Wang reportedly decapitated the girl with a cleaver, seizing her when her mini scooter got stuck in a pothole. The girl's mother and grandfather, who were with her, were unable to stop Wang's attack.
Police arrested Wang shortly after the murder and found 29 notebooks in his home, in which he wrote that he would "fight against the Communist Party and Russia" and "find a woman from Sichuan Province to have a son to carry on the family name."
Wang told police that he is Emperor Yao, a legendary monarch from ancient Chinese history and he killed the girl because he "had a feeling that she was from Sichuan," Taipei media reported on Monday.
Taiwan media outlets reported that Wang was previously diagnosed with a mental illness and was twice arrested on drug offences.
The tragedy has triggered a debate over the death penalty, with pro-execution locals arguing that this case shows that capital punishment is needed to deter criminals.
The head of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty expressed her condolences on her Facebook, writing "(I feel) Very very very sorry. How on earth could we stop this kind of incident from happening again? I really hope there's a simple answer for it."
However, some Taipei residents pointed out that executing killers is unlikely to prevent random attacks like this.
