In a bid to investigate alleged links between Taichung police and local gangsters, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday said he had asked police to go through surveillance camera tapes from the crime scene where a suspected gang leader was gunned down on Friday last week.
“We have just retrieved video clips for the last seven days, and they have been transferred to prosecutors for investigation,” said Hu, who has come under intense pressure amid public outrage over the presence of four police officers at the scene of the shooting. They were reportedly playing mahjong and hid under a table when Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠) was shot.
Hu said he understood that police officers maintain “certain relations with gangsters” to further investigations, but whether police officers have been too close to gang members needed to be assessed.
PHOTO: CNA
Taichung police chief Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) reportedly kept him in the dark for five days after investigators uncovered the presence of the four officers at the scene of the shooting and the police chief resigned on Thursday night. His replacement is Chiu Feng-kuang (邱豐光), who was deputy head of the National Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Bureau.
Some critics have voiced suspicions that Jason Hu was in the know and that Hu Mu-yuan was a mere scapegoat.
Jason Hu yesterday said the reason he approved Hu Mu-yuan’s resignation was because the police report on the shooting was unclear.
“A lot of questions were left unanswered. This report did not convince me. How is it supposed to convince Taichung residents?” he said.
Meanwhile, a police officer from Tainan County’s Yujing Precinct was detained yesterday for alleged links to gangsters and suspected criminal activities.
“We have been investigating Lin Mao-hsiung [林茂雄] for a while because of his complicated relationship with gang members,” Tainan County Police Department Chief Inspector Wang Chi-hsing (王啟興) said.
“The internal affairs department is now investigating and trying to establish if more officers are involved,” Wang said.
Shen Bao-chien (沈堡墘), lieutenant of the county’s Shiuejia Precinct’s investigation team, was also implicated but prosecutors released him without bail.
Additional reporting by CNA and staff writer
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their