While the alleged kidnapping and murder of Greater Taichung-based businessman Shih Chia-chin (施家金) has again triggered public criticism of security in the city, Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) yesterday said that it is only an isolated case.
The decomposing body of the 57-year-old Shih was found in a mountainous area of Greater Tainan late on Sunday, after his alleged abduction early on Aug. 18.
Hu said that he knows the case could be seen as additional “proof” that the city is not safe, but he stressed that the event is an isolated one and declared war on organized crime.
Citing public safety statistics, Hu said that from January until last month, only 75 major crimes were reported in Greater Taichung, compared with 194 in New Taipei City, 184 in Taipei, 171 in Greater Tainan and 135 in Greater Kaohsiung.
He added that Greater Taichung has the lowest crime rates among the nation’s five special municipalities.
Despite Hu’s statements, netizens yesterday questioned his ability to fight crime, saying that since March 2007, the mayor has “declared war on organized crime” 23 times, but major crimes still happen in the city.
According to an unpublished survey conducted by the Ministry of the Interior on public satisfaction with security in the fourth quarter last year, Greater Taichung ranked the worst among the five special municipalities.
According to the survey, up to 82.91 percent of Greater Tainan residents are satisfied with security in the city, 76.78 percent in Taipei, 73.64 percent in New Taipei City and 73.11 in Greater Kaohsiung, while satisfaction drops to 60.62 in Greater Taichung.
Past survey results also rank Greater Taichung last among the five special municipalities in all four quarters last year.
When the numbers were leaked to media outlets last year, Hu protested to the then-minister of the interior Lee Hong-yuan (李鴻源), but Lee said he did not know how reporters got the figures.
Shih, the victim who made a fortune from the online gambling business, became a billionaire by investing in real estate and operating hypermarkets at home and abroad.
According to police, Shih returned to Taiwan from a trip to the US and was picked up by his chauffeur at the Taiwan Taoyaun International Airport. Instead of being taken home, Shih told his family to transfer NT$30 million (US$1 million) into a bank account designated by his kidnappers, police said.
The police later used surveillance cameras to determine that the chauffeur had two accomplices who abandoned Shih’s Mercedes-Benz in Greater Tainan.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716