Yesterday the National Police Administration said that the Taipei City Police Department (TCPD) will be in charge of maintaining public order during the May 20 inauguration of President Chen Shui-bian (
"We are geared up for all kinds of potential challenges," said Shieh Ing-dan (
"In addition to the Taipei police, other police forces are also on the right track and everything is under control. There are no problems at all," Shieh said.
Shieh made his remarks while attending a seminar at the administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday morning.
Shieh said that he realized that gangsters might plan to take advantage of circumstances surrounding the inauguration to incite riots or engage in other violent activities. Shieh said that the police are keeping track of the latest information about such plans and will crack down if gangsters actually make trouble.
Regarding a rumor that the police will shut down several mobile-phone transmitting towers near the Presidential Office on May 20 due to concerns that attackers might use mobile phones to detonate bombs, Shieh said that the administration itself does not make decisions on issues of this nature.
"Appropriate authorities are considering the possibility of temporarily shutting off the towers and the police will follow such an order if one comes," Shieh said.
Meanwhile, in Taoyuan, the police department there held a roadblock-construction contest yesterday to encourage officers to learn how to build roadblocks fast.
Taoyuan County Police Department Deputy Commissioner Lee Han-ching (
"There are more and more protests on the streets these days and it is necessary for police officers to have the ability to build roadblocks as fast as possible. We decided to hold this contest to provide a chance for officers to practice and to gain encouragement at the same time," Lee said.
Police officers were divided into six-person teams. Each group was required to build a roadblock which consisted of three separate but linked obstacles. The teams were required to build their roadblocks in under 30 minutes.
The winning team, made up of six officers from Yangmei Precinct, needed only 14 minutes and 55 seconds to complete the task.
"It was a great chance for us to practice one of the necessary skills that we need to do our jobs," said Lee Chien-cheng (
The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said it has launched a probe into a restaurant at Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store after a customer died of suspected food poisoning. A preliminary investigation on Sunday found missing employee health status reports and unsanitary kitchen utensils at Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in the department store’s basement food court, the department said. No direct relationship between the food poisoning death and the restaurant was established, as no food from the day of the incident was available for testing and no other customers had reported health complaints, it said, adding that the investigation is ongoing. Later
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