Sun An-tso, the son of Taiwanese celebrity couple Di Ying and Sun Peng, was detained yesterday (May 17) over allegations related to a homemade flamethrower.
The 25-year-old took to social media on May 14 to upload a video of himself testing the flamethrower on a riverbank in Taipei, sending large plumes of flames and black smoke across the water.
Sun said in the video that the device was intended to kill rats. According to Taiwanese media reports, police said that he was unaware his actions were illegal.
The incident received widespread criticism, prompting a police investigation. According to media reports, the Taiwan Shilin District Court said at a detention hearing that Sun was strongly suspected of offences including public intimidation, public endangerment, illegal possession of a non-standard shotgun and imitation firearms.
There was also a risk of collusion or evidence-tampering if not detained, according to the court.
He was ordered detained and held incommunicado for two months.
In a now-deleted livestream broadcast before Sun was taken in, his actress mother Di Ying defended his actions.
“He’s a genius,” said the 61-year-old. “I don’t know why Taiwan won’t recruit him as a weapons expert at Academia Sinica.”
Located in Taipei, Academia Sinica was founded in 1928 as a leading academic institution to conduct scholarly research in the fields of science, mathematics and humanities.
She said that while others label him a bad person, he ultimately hasn’t harmed anyone.
“He’s been interested in flamethrowers lately, but nobody else knows how to work them. Isn’t he amazing? He didn’t injure anyone. If this is considered a mistake, then arrest him. I don’t care,” Di Ying said.
“An-tso’s really not a bad person. I don’t know why so many people want to attack him. It’s all my fault. If it wasn’t for me being Di Ying; he’s a good boy,” lamented an emotional Di Ying, shedding tears as she spoke.
“He wanted to join the anti-terrorism team to protect everyone, so why doesn’t anyone have faith in him?”
In the comments of her latest Facebook posts, netizens weighed in with their own two cents.
One user wrote in Chinese: “You can spoil children, but they should be educated when they make mistakes. It’s not good if they make mistakes and then blame others. If you can’t teach them well, society will do it for you. A doting mother often spoils her kid.”
Another said: “It’s right to lock him up. How old is he? He’s completely ignorant and arrogant, constantly causing problems and setting a bad example to young people. How many times does society have to forgive him?”
In 2018, the then 18-year-old Sun was charged in the United States with making terroristic charges after threatening to carry out a mass school shooting on May Day.
Authorities recovered more than 1,600 rounds of ammunition, rifle magazines and a homemade gun he had assembled.
He was sentenced to time served, approximately five months, and deported.
In her livestream, Di Ying alluded to the incident as a joke that Sun shouldn’t have made.
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