When a thief decided to steal a van parked at a night market early yesterday morning in Taoyuan County (
The shock was probably greater for the parents, who were selling toys in the market nearby, when the blue Ford van went missing with their kids -- aged six, eight and 10 -- sleeping inside. When they discovered the loss of both their vehicle and children they called the police.
Luckily, an hour later, a person called and said he had heard some children crying out in a van parked in front of a nearby elementary school. The thief had apparently fled without having taken anything.
The 10-year-old recalled that "an uncle" drove the van away and said he was taking them home.
The man also asked the boy where his parents' wallet was. After searching in vain, the man stopped the vehicle and got out.
When the boy saw his parents and the police, the boy apparently realized for the first time what had happened and said: "I have met a bad guy."
Hard time for snakes
In Taiwan, snakes have been the bane of hikers, campers and all others who enjoy outdoor sports. The island has its fair share of poisonous snakes -- including the notorious hundred-pace snake, which is reputed to kill a person within the time it takes to walk a hundred paces -- and many others which are quite harmless.
All of them are equally unwelcome in your tent. But they may become increasingly infrequent visitors. Unfortunately, this is not particularly good news.
According to Professor Lu Kuang-yang of National Taiwan Normal University, snakes are falling victim to man. He says that many of Taiwan's low altitude snakes are dying off because of the excess use of pesticides and other chemicals in agriculture.
According to Lu, the snake's habitat has been destroyed by man -- and to no one's greater advantage than that of the rodent.
With their natural enemy greatly reduced in numbers, the rodent population has grown rapidly. While campers might find rodents preferable to snakes, farmers certainly don't. They have been much troubled by rodents who eat and otherwise destroy their crops.
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