Police said yesterday they are looking for a man who stole a gold model boat from Tamkang University.
The university said the gold model boat, valued at more than NT$3 million (US$90,220), was a gift from South Korea's Kyungnam University in 2000 to celebrate the university's 50th anniversary.
Last week the university put the boat on display in it's museum, and invited students to guess how much it weighed. It was going to announce the correct answer and winner on Wednesday, with the winner receiving a NT$5,000 prize.
However the competition has now been canceled because of the theft, the university said.
Taipei County police officer Tseng Yung-hui (
"The suspect sprayed a liquid into the face of a graduate school student who was guarding the boat for the museum," he said.
Tseng said according to the victim, surnamed Huang, he felt pain in his eyes, and the suspect had told him that he had better wash his face and eyes quickly in the restroom, adding that he would take Huang to a hospital after he was finished.
Huang told police that when he returned he found that both the man and the boat were gone.
Huang said he remembered the suspect visiting the museum on Tuesday, and that he had stayed in the museum for a quite a while before the robbery.
Police reviewed surveillance footage and discovered video showing the man hiding the gold boat in a white bag, then leaving the museum.
The suspect wore white clothes and a black peaked cap, Tseng said.
Police have not identified the suspect, but they were investigating whether any of the staff or students at the university were involved in the robbery, he added.