Frustration over a parking ticket is suspected to have led to a recent “110” emergency call urging police officials to watch the weight of an officer.
On Saturday afternoon, Datong Precinct Officer Lin Chih-hao (林志浩), 30, issued a traffic ticket, precinct personnel said.
Later on Saturday, just before midnight, the “110” emergency dispatch center of the Taipei City Police Department got a call in which the speaker referred to Lin’s police identification number and made comments about his size.
“Higher-level officials should pay attention to the obese physical condition of the officer, which would hinder his ability to apprehend thieves,” the caller reportedly said.
Lin is 185cm in height and weighs 98kg, police said.
Lin told a reporter that he issued the ticket in accordance with traffic regulations and that he was neither abusing the power of his job nor seeking to make his monthly report look good.
“I cannot help that I am taller and larger than others; it is how my physique was meant to be,” Lin said, adding that he was an “agile fat person” who can easily apprehend thieves.
Lin acknowledged that his physique was often the butt of jokes among passing civilians when he is on duty.
Netizens commenting on the issue were almost unanimous in their support for the officer.
“Who said fat people cannot be agile! Look at Sammo Hung (洪金寶),” one commenter said.
Hung, a Hong Kong actor, is known for his agility and martial arts skills, despite his obesity.
A commenter called Kao Chen-hsiu (高振修) said that whatever body type someone has, it is a gift from their parents and the nation’s democracy should not be used to discriminate against anyone.
The reported incident and a photograph posted on Facebook by the individual sparked light chatting among Taipei police and led to jokes aimed at overweight and obese officers at multiple stations, police said.
Datong Precinct Deputy Chief Lee Ching-te (李清德) said that the precinct would ask officers to gauge whether they might be overweight or obese according to their body mass index, adding that the precinct would take the criticism seriously.
The Taipei City Police Department added that as long as officers pass the physical criteria — as measured by training runs — whether an officer was overweight was up to personal opinion.
However, if officers “seem obese,” the department would ask them to consider slimming down for health reasons, officials said, adding that residents should seek to express their frustration over tickets or rulings through proper channels, instead of abusing emergency call centers.
Additional reporting by Wu Cheng-feng
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