A woman surnamed Chiao now known as “roach lady” had been putting dead roaches in her drinks and cakes at 85?C bakery and cafe chain stores, and then asking for money as compensation. Over the course of two weeks, she had swindled seven different 85?C branches as well as a beverage shop, accumulating NT$10,900 in all. The Banciao District Court brought Chiao up on fraud and extortion charges, and sentenced her to nine months in prison and detention for 30 days, which could be transferred to a fine and appealed.
During the trial, the 46-year-old buffet restaurant employee admitted the crimes, but in her defense she said her husband was no longer living with her, she does not make enough money to support herself, and has been unhappy because of arguing with her sister-in-law. She was feeling confused and this was why she committed the crimes. Therefore, she hoped to be shown tolerance and clemency so that she could take care of her family.
Chiao has already apparently settled with several shops out of court. For two of them, all she had to do was compensate them for the price of the beverages, which amounted to NT$75. The judge charged her with theft by fraud and sentenced her to 30 days’ detention, and since she had accepted money and other gifts on more than six occasions, she was also sentenced to nine months for fraud and extortion, which could be transferred to a fine.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY KYLE JEFFCOAT)
Photo: Chang Chung-yi, Taipei Times
照片: 自由時報記者張忠義
喬姓「蟑螂大嬸」鎖定「85度C」咖啡連鎖店,自備蟑螂屍塊「加料」在飲料、蛋糕中,再向店家討紅包壓驚,二週行騙七家分店及另一家飲料店,共得新台幣一萬0九百元。板橋地院依詐欺取財罪,判喬女九個月徒刑,及拘役三十天,得易科罰金,可上訴。
法院審理時,四十六歲在自助餐店工作的喬女坦承犯行,但辯稱「因丈夫不在身旁,上班賺的錢不夠用,又跟大姑鬧得不愉快,一時糊塗才犯案」,希望得到諒解,從輕量刑,可以照顧家庭。
據了解,喬女已與多數店家和解,其中二次僅要求退還飲料價錢合計新台幣七十五元,法官依據詐欺得利罪判喬女拘役三十天,其餘六次當場收「紅包」又收禮,則依詐欺取財罪判九月徒刑,均得易科罰金。
(自由時報記者王定傳、李忠憲)
Taiwanese cuisine boasts a rich culture of thick soups, with various options available at street vendors or high-end restaurants. In English, this style of dish is typically called “thick soup.” Western cuisine typically uses flour, cream, or mashed vegetables to create a creamy consistency, while in Taiwan, thick soups are made by simply incorporating food starch into the soup and creating a smooth and silky texture. Tutuo fish in thick soup is such a soup with fried tutuo fish chunks, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and wood ears. 台灣羹品飲食文化豐富,無論是巷口小店或是高檔餐廳,都有提供羹料理。羹在英文稱作「濃湯」,西式濃湯是以麵粉、鮮奶油、蔬菜泥等達到濃稠的口感,台灣的羹湯用太白粉即能做出濃稠絲滑的湯頭。土魠魚羹就是在勾芡的羹湯中加入炸土魠魚塊、香菇、竹筍、木耳等食材的料理。 boast (v.) 擁有(令人驕傲的事物) consistency (n.) 濃稠度 chunk (n.) 厚塊,大塊 wood ear (n. ph.) 木耳 The star of this
Huge stretches of coral reef around the world are turning a ghostly white this year amid record warm ocean temperatures. On April 15, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed the world’s fourth mass global bleaching event is underway — with serious consequences for marine life and for the people and economies that rely on reefs. WHAT ARE CORALS? Corals are invertebrates that live in colonies. Their calcium carbonate secretions form hard and protective scaffolding that serves as a home to many colorful species of single-celled algae. The two organisms have evolved over millennia to work together, with corals providing shelter to algae,
A: So who were Hollywood’s highest-paid stars of 2023? B: No. 5 to No. 2 were: Matt Damon with US$43 million, Ryan Gosling with US$43 million, Tom Cruise with US$45 million, and Margot Robbie with US$59 million. A: Didn’t Tom Cruise top the list? B: Nope, Adam Sandler was No.1, having made US$73 million, which is about NT$2.34 billion. A: Wow, maybe I should change my career to acting. A: 好萊塢去年的片酬排行榜前幾名是誰? B: 第5到2名是︰麥特戴蒙、4300萬美元,雷恩葛斯林、4300萬美元,湯姆克魯斯、4500萬美元,瑪格羅比、5900萬美元。 A: 冠軍竟然不是阿湯哥? B: 是亞當山德勒、片酬7300萬美元,大約23.4億台幣! A: 天啊或許我也該轉行當演員啦。 (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
A symbol of purity and cleanliness, the color white is the standard color for coats worn by doctors. While this has been the case for well over 100 years, it hasn’t always been so. In fact, before the late 19th century, doctors wore formal black attire, which was similar to that worn by clergymen. Black was chosen for practical reasons—it hid stains from medical procedures and presented a sense of seriousness. The major reason for the color change of the doctor’s coat was to distinguish qualified, professional doctors from those with little or no medical training. Since medical science