Airman robbed of his service rifle by armed assailants

With two previous cases of ammunition theft yet to be solved at an air base in Taoyuan County's Tayuan township, a guard at the same facility was robbed of his rifle in broad daylight by armed men who officials said appeared to be well-prepared.

The incident occurred at 8:21am yesterday as airman Lin Ming-che (林明哲) was on his way toward a guard post outside the Tayuan base for a shift change, officials at the Air Force General Headquarters said.

Midway to the post, Lin and another airman, identified as Li Shao-hsien (李紹賢), were accosted by five unidentified assailants who emerged from a green sedan, said Colonel Li Ming-shan (李明山), political warfare director of the Tayuan base.

The five attackers -- three of them armed with handguns -- pushed Lin to the ground before they took away his service rifle, while holding Li at gun point, Li said. Li was apparently not carrying a rifle. Neither man was injured in the incident.

The five men fled in the sedan before guards nearby took notice and came to rescue the two men, he said.

A task force comprised of investigators from both the air force and police has been formed to investigate the case.

An initial probe has found only that the sedan used by the robbers was stolen.

Yesterday's incident, however, was the third case of arms being stolen from the Tayuan air base, following two thefts of ammunition last October which took place within a week of each other, involving nearly 9,000 rounds of ammunition for 65-K2 rifles, as well as dozens of grenades and smoke bombs.

The two previous thefts have not been solved despite claims by the air force shortly after they occurred that it was confidant about recovering the lost ammunition and catching the culprits.

The incidents also prompted Minister of National Defense Tang Fei (唐飛) to apologize to the public for the apparent neglect of duty on the part of officers at the Tayuan base.

The air force also disciplined a number of high-ranking officials, including the then-Tayuan base commander, for their administrative responsibility for the incidents.

Following yesterday's daylight robbery, one defense official, who declined to be identified, warned that it would happen again if the military does not root out the thieves and get to the bottom of the problem.

One of the problems with the Air Force, the official said, is that most of the air bases have guard posts located outside the barracks, and that airmen armed with rifles will always run the risk of being robbed on the way to those posts.

The majority of those in the armed forces are conscripts who are insufficiently trained to handle an emergency situation of this kind, the official added.