Seven suspects were detained yesterday in connection with two high-profile ammunition thefts at an air force base in Taoyuan earlier this month, with more arrests expected in the near future.
The seven, said to be all civilians, were captured in their homes in Tamshui and Sanchih during the early morning hours by prosecutors and military police overseeing the cases.
The arrests came two days after the air force announced a reward of NT$3 million would be paid for clues leading to arrests in connection with the cases, which constituted the largest-ever breach of arms security in the service.
The first incident took place on Oct. 3, with nearly 9,000 rounds of rifle ammunition reported stolen. The second was announced on Oct. 11, with over 120 items of less lethal ammunition found missing.
The air force declined to reveal details of yesterday's arrests, but said that there were still other suspects they were investigating.
"We know very little about the seven suspects arrested this morning. In the investigation of the two ammunition thefts, the air force is responsible for checking all ammunition stored at the Taoyuan base, while the prosecutors and military police will take care of the arrest of suspects," said Air Force General Headquarters Colonel Yu Huan-ting (
"It is too early to say anything about the potential involvement of these seven people in the two cases," Yu said.
Officials at the Taoyuan air base are also questioning several soldiers who are suspected of being involved in the thefts, said Major Yu Li-chen (?_?O真) from Air Force General Headquarters.
"These soldiers include the three who have been questioned since last week over their alleged involvement in the thefts," Yu said. "We suspect that both ammunition thefts were committed by the same group of people."
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
NEGOTIATIONS: The US response to the countermeasures and plans Taiwan presented has been positive, including boosting procurement and investment, the president said Taiwan is included in the first group for trade negotiations with the US, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he seeks to shield Taiwanese exporters from a 32 percent tariff. In Washington, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that he would speak to his Taiwanese and Israeli counterparts yesterday about tariffs after holding a long discussion with the Vietnamese earlier. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday postponed punishing levies on multiple trade partners, including Taiwan, for three months after trillions of US dollars were wiped off global markets. He has maintained a 10 percent
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS