Kaohsiung residents yesterday called on the city government to beef up security after police officers were called out several times to investigate disputes that ended in bloody attacks, including a street brawl.
Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) urged residents not to let themselves become angry, and ordered police to increase patrols.
“I ask again for Kaohsiung residents and all friends, please do not turn to violence. It is important to have harmony in our city and to show people that we are a ‘sunny’ city,” Han said. “Many tourists are coming to Kaohsiung, so our residents must by all means eliminate violence and brutality.”
An argument between a carpentry instructor and an apprentice at a KTV parlor in Sinsing District (新興) allegedly escalated into a fist fight before the instructor grabbed a cleaver from the kitchen and sliced the other man.
The apprentice, 24, was in intensive care as of press time last night.
A morning dispute at a seafood restaurant in Sanmin District (三民) between the proprietor and a customer on the proper way to give a toast turned into a fight with broken beer bottles allegedly being used to cut each other’s faces.
A street brawl was reportedly sparked by an argument between two over a woman, which escalated despite friends trying to intervene.
Eyewitnesses said about 20 people were involved, and one man attacked another with a katana, inflicting several cuts.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear