CRIME
Ex-investigator sentenced
The Supreme Court on Thursday sentenced a retired agent for the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau’s to six years for violating the National Intelligence Services Act (國家情報工作法). The court said Tung Chien-nan (董建南) lured former colleagues to China to force them to disclose sensitive information. According to local media reports, Tung was recruited by Beijing after he retired and he tricked several former military intelligence officers into traveling to China under the pretext of doing business or taking a vacation. Some were detained upon arrival for interrogation. The case came to light after one of those detained returned to Taiwan and reported Tung to authorities. Tung was arrested in February last year when he returned to Taiwan to collect his pension.
AGRICULTURE
Fruit logo contest launched
The Changhua County Government has organized a brand design competition as part of its efforts to establish a brand image for the county’s dragon fruit. The competition is offering cash prizes totaling NT$135,000, with the first-prize winner taking home NT$80,000, county officials said at a press conference. The challenge is to design a logo and slogans to promote Changhua dragon fruit, the officials said. The winning design will be used on dragon fruit baskets and packages in both the domestic and overseas markets, the officials said. The entry deadline is May 17. More information on the contest is available on the Chinese-language Web site www.star.linker.tw. Government statistics show that Changhua County produced 5,668 tonnes of dragon fruit in 2011, accounting for 27.1 percent of the nation’s total production.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese