A Taoyuan woman was yesterday fined for posting false reports about COVID-19, as the Criminal Investigation Bureau continued to probe cases of people spreading unsubstantiated stories and misinformation about the outbreak.
The 62-year-old woman, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was fined NT$30,000 for posting on Feb. 7 on the messaging app Line that “as of Jan. 27, authorities had quarantined 48 people in Taoyuan suspected of being infected with the Wuhan virus, then added 10 more in the next two days, for a total of 58.”
Hsieh had breached Article 63 of the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法) by “disseminating rumors or incorrect information concerning epidemic conditions of communicable diseases, resulting in damage to the public or others” and Article 151 of the Criminal Code by endangering “public safety by putting the public in fear of injury to life, body, or property,” prosecutors said.
Photo: CNA
As Hsieh admitted her mistake and showed remorse, prosecutors said they decided not to indict her.
In another case, a Chinese woman, surnamed Liu (劉), who is married to a Taiwanese man and lives in Hualien, allegedly posted a message claiming she overheard a Taipei city councilor saying that “the Wuhan virus outbreak is out of control in Taiwan... People should flee from Taiwan now, because within one week’s time, there will be a total lockdown across Taiwan.”
After questioning, Liu was on Monday referred to Hualien prosecutors and faced pending charges under the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法).
Several other cases of disinformation were sourced in China, and are likely online attacks by Chinese netizens or part of a co-ordinated campaign by Chinese cyberarmy units, the bureau said.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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
RSS