The Ministry of National Defense is investigating whether former Marine Corps commander Lieutenant-General Hsu Shang-wen (徐尚文), who had been disciplined over corruption allegations, had attempted to commit suicide, Vice Minister of National Defense Chang Liang-jen (張良任) said yesterday.
Chang said he understood that Hsu had slashed one of his wrists yesterday morning and was being treated at the military’s Tsoying Hospital.
Tsoying Hospital confirmed yesterday that there had been a 4cm to 5cm long wound on Hsu’s left wrist when he arrived at the hospital.
Chang said it was unknown whether he had tried to take his own life.
Hsu on Tuesday received two demerits for failing to avoid a conflict of interest and was transferred to the Navy Command Headquarters as a commission member while awaiting a judicial inquiry.
Meanwhile, legislators yesterday quizzed Chang about media reports of a surprise late-night raid on Navy Headquarters last Tuesday by Chief of General Staff Lin Chen-yi (林鎮夷) and a team of inspectors.
The raid was carried out at the request of Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏).
The Chinese-language Apple Daily newspaper yesterday reported that Lin arrived at Navy Headquarters to find two petty officers from the Naval Honor Guard drunk at their posts while on guard duty. Lin also discovered empty beer cans, the report said.
Lin then found that the duty officer, Rear Admiral Dai Ching-cheng (戴慶正) of the Navy Intelligence Center, asleep in his office the newspaper reported.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator John Wu (吳志揚) complained about the report to Chang.
“This is absurd. Officers who were supposed to be on security duty were drunk. What kind of discipline is this?” he said.
Confirming the raid, Chang said: “We discovered a problem and tried to fix it before it got worse. We hope to be encouraged instead of being condemned.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RSS