Police on Sunday questioned a foreign national suspected of writing graffiti on a Taichung MRT elevator the day before, as the transit company vowed to seek damages.
Staff at Daqing Station on Saturday morning discovered the graffiti on the glass encasement of the elevator at Exit 2, Taichung Mass Rapid Transit Corp (臺中捷運) said in a news release yesterday.
Security footage showed a man riding up on a bicycle at 4:44am on Saturday and appearing to graffiti the elevator enclosure, before riding away at 4:50am, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung City Government
Station staff notified police of their findings, who found the suspect while patrolling on Sunday afternoon, it added.
The Taichung Police Department Third Precinct yesterday said that the suspect is a 33-year-old South African.
During questioning, he said he was a graffiti artist in South Africa, and was unaware of the local laws surrounding the practice, the precinct said.
The suspect is likely to be charged with offenses against the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), punishable by a fine of up to NT$3,000, it added.
The MRT company said that some of the graffiti could not be removed immediately, but would be fully cleaned within days.
Patrols would also be increased in the vicinity to prevent a recurrence, it added.
As for the suspect, the company said it would file a suit to claim damages under civil law.
The company said the suspect could also be liable under Article 354 of the Criminal Code for causing injury to the public by damaging something, which is punishable by up to two years imprisonment or a fine of up to NT$15,000.
Additional reporting by CNA
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
PEACE AND STABILITY: ‘Taiwan can be of tremendous value’ in building resilient supply chains, President Tsai Ing-wen said, as she encouraged closer ties with foreign businesses A Chinese invasion of Taiwan is unlikely for the time being due to the internal challenges and international pressure that China is facing, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the New York Times in an interview shown on Wednesday. “My thought is that perhaps this is not a time for them [China] to consider a major invasion of Taiwan,” Tsai said in a prerecorded interview for the DealBook Summit held by the newspaper on Wednesday. Beijing’s leadership is presently “overwhelmed by its internal challenges” on economic, financial and political grounds, while the international community “has made it loud and clear that war is
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
RSS