Breaking News / Elderly man seen waving a liquor bottle and yelling on Taipei Metro: "Why are you sitting in the priority seat, young man?"

▲ A commuter wielding a liquor bottle and shouting loudly caused an incident on the Taipei Metro on the evening of September 6. (Photo / Screenshot from YouTube video. Excessive drinking is harmful to health.)

Reported by Chen Rui-zhong / Taipei

On the evening of September 6, a train on the Banqiao-bound Bannan Line of the Taipei Metro was traveling through Taipei Main Station when a man around 60 years old, holding a sorghum liquor bottle, loudly yelled at a young man wearing glasses. The elderly man continuously struck the seats with the bottle and even waved it aggressively in front of the bespectacled man, seemingly attempting to attack him, causing extreme tension inside the carriage.

According to reporters at the scene, it is believed that after boarding, the man with the liquor bottle became upset upon seeing the young man in glasses occupying a priority seat. Even after the young man voluntarily stood up, the elderly man remained furious and took out asorghum liquor bottlefrom a plastic bag, while striking the seats and shouting phrases such as “What a mess!” “A young person like you sitting in a priority seat!” “The youth these days are awful!” and “Why don’t you call the police!”

▲ The man with the liquor bottle shouts and yells angrily at passengers while holding a bottle of sorghum liquor. (Video / Photo by Reporter Chen Rui-zhong)

It was a weekend evening, and approximately 60% of the carriage’s seats were occupied. Passengers quickly moved away from the man with the bottle, fearing he might attack. Some immediately used the intercom to call for station staff assistance.

As the man continued to yell, many bystanders couldn’t stand it any longer, loudly saying things like “There’s nothing wrong with sitting in a priority seat,” trying to reason with him. When the bottle-wielding man realized he was being criticized by everyone, he fell silent. Nearby passengers whispered, speculating that he might be drunk.

After station staff hurried aboard at Shangdao Temple Station, they first assessed the mental state and alcohol consumption level of the man with the bottle. The man in glasses also explained to staff that he had initially sat in the priority seat because the train was not crowded, but the situation escalated after the elderly man noticed.

Once the staff understood the situation, they quickly calmed the passengers to prevent further disputes. Eventually, the staff learned that the man with the bottle was actually heading to Ximen Station on the Metro. They then told him:“You’re on the wrong train.”The man with the bottle, escorted by station staff, eventually got off the train looking disgruntled. Fortunately, no injuries occurred during the incident.(ETtoday News Cloud reminds you: excessive drinking is harmful to health)