Authorities have been investigating a spate of rumors and misinformation related to the COVID-19 outbreak, with prosecutors yesterday questioning five people for allegedly disseminating messages claiming that a new virus case involves military personnel at Hsinchu Air Force Base.
An investigation was initiated after verifying with health authorities and base officials that the messages are false, Hsinchu City Police Precinct Chief Teng Hsueh-hsin (鄧學鑫) said.
“The messages began circulating on Wednesday on [messaging app] Line groups and other social media platforms,” Teng said. “Five suspects, including a man surnamed Yu (余), were identified and detained.”
Photo copied by Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Police later transferred the five to prosecutors for questioning, he said, adding that they face charges for spreading rumors and misinformation under Article 63 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法), which carries fines of up to NT$3 million (US$98,674).
In Taipei, Criminal Investigation Bureau officers questioned a teenager, who allegedly spread rumors and misinformation about the virus on social media.
Central Epidemic Command Center staff monitoring social media and online news related to COVID-19 reported the girl’s activity. The junior-high school student became the nation’s youngest person to be investigated for spreading rumors and misinformation about the disease.
“The girl shared a message on video-sharing platform TikTok claiming that ‘hundreds of people in Taiwan have died from the Wuhan virus,’ which was accompanied by pictures,” an official said.
The girl reportedly admitted to producing the message and was quoted as saying that she did it to boost the number of her subscribers.
Police urged parents to check their children’s Internet and social media usage, and warn them against disseminating rumors and misinformation.
In other developments, the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau on Thursday detained two men who allegedly said on Facebook that a relative of Taiwan’s 19th confirmed case, who was the nation’s first fatality from COVID-19, was being treated at a hospital in Taichung’s Fongyuan District (豐原).
After verifying with local health authorities that the claim was false, bureau officials said that they identified the two men, who face charges.
Taipei police yesterday also questioned a man surnamed Liu (劉) for allegedly spreading a rumor on Facebook that a woman in her 60s was taken to a hospital in Nangang District (南港) and that “she is reportedly a confirmed case, so everyone please take precautions.”
After verifying that the information was false, police located Liu, who is to face charges for breaching Article 63 of the act.
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Reports of Taiwanese going missing, being detained or interrogated, or having their personal liberties restricted in China increased about fourfold annually last year, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Last year, 221 Taiwanese who traveled to China were reported missing, were detained and interrogated, or otherwise had their personal freedom restricted, up from 55 the previous year, the council said. Reopening group tours to China would be risky, as it would leave travelers with no way to seek help through official channels after Beijing shut down dialogue between the associations tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said. Taipei’s Taiwan Strait Tourism
RSS