The suspect in a US$3 million kidnapping and burglary case in San Francisco was deported to the US on Friday after being apprehended in Kaohsiung, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
Zhang Tianze (張天澤), 30, has been implicated in the March 16 burglary of a woman in San Francisco.
A man broke into the victim’s home and physically restrained her, demanding that she transfer him money while brandishing a knife and threatening to torture her, the San Francisco Police Department said.
Photo: CNA
The victim transferred nearly US$3 million to the man, who left after also taking her mobile phones, the department said.
Investigators identified Zhang as a suspect and determined that he fled the US shortly after the burglary.
Bureau officers identified a man surnamed Zhang who arrived in Taiwan on March 18, first residing in a hotel in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) before befriending a female graduate student online.
Zhang allegedly told the student he worked as a cryptocurrency trading adviser in the US and taught her about investing, the bureau said, adding that the two traveled around Taiwan together, allegedly spending more than NT$500,000 in two-and-a-half months.
When police apprehended Zhang in a rental unit in Kaohsiung, the student was also there, but denied knowing that Zhang was wanted in the US, it said.
Police also found five “cold wallets” on Zhang, the bureau said, referring to a storage method for cryptocurrencies.
Police said Zhang traded cryptocurrency for cash on exchanges to fund his travels across Taiwan with the student, adding that they also found about NT$230,000 in cash when he was detained.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from