CRIME
Suspect commits suicide
The Kinmen County Police Department yesterday said a suspect in a robbery and kidnapping case had committed suicide. The suspect, surnamed Chen (陳), was wanted in connection to a robbery and kidnapping involving Kincheng Township (金城) representative council head Chen Tien-cheng (陳天成), police said. The suspect was found in Kinning Township (金寧) but refused to open the door when arrived. Officers said they heard a gunshot from inside the residence. Chen was taken to hospital, but the doctors pronounced him dead at 1:43pm yesterday. Police have already arrested two other suspects in connection with the case and two others are still at large.
Photo: Taipei Times
CRIME
Police uncover 4kg of drugs
Taitung County authorities have seized about 4kg of amphetamine, the largest haul of illegal drugs in 10 years in the county, Taitung police said on Thursday. Four people were arrested during a raid in May last year on suspicion of drug possession, Taitung County Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation deputy head Yu Cheng-ting (尤正廷) said. Although only 166.9g of amphetamines were seized in May, one suspect, surnamed Lin (林), said the remaining about 3kg had been sold. Prosecutor Teng Ting-chiang (鄧定強) said he was highly skeptical of Lin’s claim and asked the Taitung police to continue their investigation. After more than a year, Taitung and Taichung police finally found the stash in a Taichung neighborhood, where Lin rented a house, as well as a modified gun with three bullets, Yu said.
Transport
THSRC offers free rides
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) on Friday announced that it has expanded its partnership with EVA Air Corp to offer a free shuttle service to the high-speed railway station in Taoyuan. Travelers flying to Europe, Australia, New Zealand or North America on EVA Air and commuting on the high-speed rail from southern Taiwan will be eligible for a free return ticket to Taoyuan, the company said. The deal is reserved for passengers commuting from Kaohsiung, Tainan and Chiayi to Taoyuan and flying with EVA Air or China Airlines, which last month partnered with THSRC. EVA Air, UNI Airways Corp, China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines and China Eastern Airlines passengers can get a 20 percent discount on high-speed rail tickets, THSRC said.
GEOPOLITICS
Stephen Young slams China
Former American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) director Stephen Young on Friday said Beijing has made a mistake by not reaching out to Taiwan. China’s attempt to bully President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) demonstrates a lack of foresight, Young said at a news conference after a Taiwan-US relations forum in Taipei. He said Tsai has many domestic challenges to face and will not change her focus because of Beijing. Beijing’s approach toward Taiwan and Hong Kong only make Taiwanese think that China is not trustworthy, he said. China’s proposed “one country, two systems” model for unification with Taiwan has been unsuccessful in Hong Kong, making it hard to win the trust of Taiwanese, Young said.
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against
Police officers yesterday morning apprehended the prime suspect of a triple homicide case, after raiding the suspect’s hideout in Taichung. They transported the suspect to New Taipei City for questioning and recorded his statement last night. The suspect, identified as a 24-year-old man surnamed Chang (張), is believed to have used his hands to strangle his wife, surnamed Chen (陳), 29, along with his three-year-old son from a previous marriage and his wife’s mother, 69. The three dead bodies were wrapped in blankets when they were discovered inside their apartment in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) on Saturday. Chang was holding a
Hungarian Member of Parliament Tompos Marton said he considers Taiwan to be a better alternative to China as a strategic partner. Marton, who is the vice president of the opposition Momentum Party, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency on Sunday. He draped a Republic of China flag across his shoulders to protest Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) visit to the capital city, Budapest, on Thursday last week, and openly voiced support for Taiwan on social media. He said in the interview that he wanted to remind the world that there were alternatives to China, and that “Taiwan has
A female physician at New Taipei City’s Shuang Ho Hospital was bullied and made to work for 32 consecutive hours by a senior colleague while pregnant before later having a miscarriage, an internal investigation found, the hospital said on Monday. The perpetrator has been removed from his post, the hospital said. The attending physician in the hospital’s Medical Imaging Department, identified by the pseudonym Y, earlier on Monday told reporters that she had been bullied by a male senior colleague who arranged shifts in her department. In January, shortly after she became pregnant, Y asked the department director if she could avoid overnight