Prosecutors yesterday began an investigation into a deadly fire in Tainan which left five members of one family dead after an early-morning blaze broke out in a two-story building in the city’s Sinying District (新營).
After the blaze was put out by firefighters, who responded to the call at about 1:30am yesterday, police and Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office investigators waded through debris to assess the scene and gather evidence.
According to a preliminary assessment released by police and prosecutors, five bodies were found at the site, which was the Chen (陳) family’s residence and truck delivery business office: 55-year-old patriarch Chen Nan-hung (陳南宏) and his wife, Lin Li-chin (林麗琴), as well as their 18-year-old daughter and two sons, aged 22 and 24.
The bodies were taken for autopsies and DNA samples were collected to confirm their identities, prosecutors said, adding that an official cause of death has not been determined.
One body was found just inside the building’s front entrance, an electric roll-up metal door, while the others were found inside other rooms, authorities said.
Apparently, the five were trapped inside, as the blaze had burned out electrical wiring, preventing them from operating the roll-up door, which remained shut, Tainan Fire Department Chief Lee Ming-feng (李明峰) said, adding that metal bars on the building’s windows also prevented the family from escaping.
Relatives said the fire might have been the result of a short-circuited lamp for the family’s ancestral shrine, which, like many Taiwanese families, the Chens had placed in the living room and kept lit continuously.
Lee advised the public to turn off lamps at night and regularly examine lightbulbs and electrical wiring and outlets for signs of wear and damage.
He also recommended that people who live in residences with electric roll-up metal doors install a manual system that can be used to open the door by hand during power outages and emergency situations.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS