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Suspect grabs policeman's pistol, shoots him in hip

"Officers are apparently unable to appropriately assess the danger of the unfolding situations they are involved in and are unable to protect themselves and prevent such crimes."

Su Tseng-chang, premier

A Tainan County police officer was robbed of his pistol and shot by a suspect he wanted to arrest yesterday, marking the second time in one week in the county that a police officer had his pistol stolen.

Tainan County police officer Chang Kuo-rong (張國榮) told reporters yesterday that the incident started when officer Cheng Chung-ming (鄭忠明) tried to stop a drug suspect named Lee Jui-lung (李睿隆) yesterday afternoon on the street in Sinying (新營), Tainan County.

Lee tried to escape and Cheng chased him to a small street.

Lee then pretended to fall to the ground, claiming that he was sick and in pain.

However, when Cheng approached, Lee began to scuffle with him, Chang said.

During the fight, Lee gained possession of Cheng's pistol, fired a shot to the air and then shot Chen in the hip, Chang said.

Lee then stole a nearby scooter and fled before abandoning it, Chang said.

Cheng's condition was reported as good after he received treatment.

Fellow officer Lin Wen-chiao (林文蕉) attempted to come to Cheng's assistance on a police scooter, but was involved in an accident with a car and sustained leg injuries, Chang said.

Yesterday's incident came just a few days after two other police officers were robbed of a pistol on a highway in Tainan County.

That pistol was later used to shoot a driver passing by on the highway who later died.

Meanwhile, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) said yesterday that police lack sufficient training.

"Obviously, our officers need more training," Su said. "The public feels upset about the police in cases like this, especially when officers' pistols are stolen. Another case like this will not be tolerated if it happens again in the future."

Su made his remarks on the floor of the legislature while fielding a question from Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Chin-pin (陳志彬), in which Chen complained about the insufficient training of the police.

"Officers are apparently unable to appropriately assess the danger of the unfolding situations they are involved in and are unable to protect themselves and prevent such crimes," Su said.

"This is a big hole for our training courses and it must be fixed," he said.

KMT Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) asked Su whether his declaration that public order was becoming "better and better public order" was based on falsified statistics from the Ministry of the Interior.

She also asked Su whether he has considered resigning because of what some claim to be a decline in public order.

"I have never said that `we are in good shape' in terms of public order," Su said. "But it does require our constant effort to maintain order and I am making such an effort now."
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