Taichung Police Commissioner Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) quit last night, with National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) telling a press conference that he had approved the resignation.
Hu’s resignation came in the wake of the gunning-down of alleged gang leader Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠) last Friday.
It was later revealed that four police officers at the crime scene were chatting and drinking tea when the shooting took place, giving rise to rumors of links between the local police and gangs.
Two ranking police officers have been given a demerit by the National Police Agency (NPA) for what was deemed to be misconduct, while the other two were given a strong warning.
The day after the shooting, the police found a vehicle near Nantou County’s Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), which they later confirmed was the car used by the assailant to flee the crime scene.
Nantou police said yesterday that the gunman remained at large and his whereabouts were unknown.
Earlier yesterday Hu had admitted that he had not reported the Weng case to NPA Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) until Sunday and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) until Tuesday.
“I was preparing a detailed presentation of the case to the mayor after completion of our initial investigations. I am very sorry about the delay,” he said.
With internal police departments and prosecutors investigating alleged connections between Taichung police and local gang members, Hu had pledged to solve the case and find the gunman by the year-end.
“I will offer my resignation if we cannot do it by then,” he had said.
Also yesterday, Jason Hu said that he was determined to deal with the so-called “eight categories of special business,” which are regarded as covers for criminal activities.
“As mayor of this city, I will not back down from a war against gangsters even if my life is threatened,” he said.
The eight categories of “special business” refer to entertainment-related enterprises such as KTV clubs, saunas, night clubs, barber and massage shops, dance halls, discotheques, and tea houses, many of which are said to be run by criminal gangs.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
RSS