An Australian steel company made the highest bid during the auction of an MD-82 passenger plane by the Taipei District Court yesterday.
Liu Shou-sung (
He noted that after failing to auction off the plane on three previous occasions, the starting price was greatly reduced to NT$20.15 million (US$620,000). After fierce bidding by four prospective buyers, the Australian steel company made the highest bid at NT$63 million.
A lawyer representing the company posted a NT$4.03 million bond after the auction. The lawyer didn't answer questions on what the company plans to do with the plane.
Liu said that the plane, originally owned by Central Leasing Corp, was auctioned off by the court because of a leasing dispute.
According to information published by the Taipei District Court, the 165-seat plane was manufactured in 1997, has 14,000 flying hours and made 21,000 landings. The plane's engines will require a major overhaul according to manufacturer's recommendations on the number of flying hours logged. It is estimated that the company will have to spend around NT$100 million on repairs and maintenance to return the plane to its original state.
RESTAURANT POISONING? Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang at a press conference last night said this was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan An autopsy discovered bongkrekic acid in a specimen collected from a person who died from food poisoning after dining at the Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said at a news conference last night. It was the first time bongkrekic acid was detected in Taiwan, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said. The testing conducted by forensic specialists at National Taiwan University was facilitated after a hospital voluntarily offered standard samples it had in stock that are required to test for bongkrekic acid, he said. Wang told the news conference that testing would continue despite
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
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