Taipei police yesterday fined a person traveling in a vehicle driven by an alleged drunk driver, a first in the nation, as new traffic laws imposing stiffer penalties on driving under the influence (DUI) took effect.
The amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), which were passed in March, stipulate fines of up to NT$90,000 for first-time DUI offenders and for passengers who travel in vehicles driven by people under the influence.
The fine was issued at a checkpoint in Neihu District (內湖) at 1:26pm, the National Police Agency said, adding that the driver had a blood alcohol level of 0.26 milligrams per liter (mg/L).
Photo: Hsu Kuo-chen, Taipei Times
A scooter driver in Songshang District (松山) was handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for public endangerment, after allegedly trying to evade police and having a blood alcohol level 0.42mg/L, the agency said.
The Taipei Police Department dispatched about 400 officers overnight to 99 checkpoints in the city as part of a nationwide crackdown on DUI that is to run through tomorrow, it said, adding that drivers who refuse to take a breath test face a maximum fine of NT$180,000.
In other news, the Taipei City Government’s Department of Environmental Protection has begun inspecting the establishments included in the first phase of a nationwide ban on plastic straws, which took effect yesterday.
In the first stage, schools, department stores, fast-food restaurants and establishments in the public sector are prohibited from providing single-use plastic straws to on-site customers as part of the government’s goal of reducing the use of plastics.
The department is checking 549 establishments in the four categories to ensure compliance, department official Tsui Hao-chih (崔浩志) said.
The department has sent notices to the establishments, and briefed them on the new policy to make sure that they understand and observe the ban, he said.
The department has also provided the establishments with posters and stickers to display on their premises to inform customers of the ban, Tsui added.
First-time offenders would be issued a warning, after which repeat offenses would result in a fine of NT$1,200 to NT$6,000, he said.
Customers are encouraged to drink their beverages straight from the cup or use disposable paper straws, or reusable silicon, bamboo or stainless steel straws to reduce the use of plastics, Tsui said.
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday posted a video on the Line messaging app, showing how to use a paper straw to drink pearl milk tea.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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