CRIME
Briton caught drunk driving
A Kaohsiung-based Briton who grabbed headlines after tattooing the Chinese characters for “Taiwan” on his forehead was yesterday detained for drunk driving. Police in the city’s Yangcheng Precinct stopped him on Cisian 2nd Road as he was seen riding a motorcycle apparently under the influence and parked the scooter beyond the stop line when waiting for a traffic light. Police said he smelt of alcohol and a test showed a breath alcohol level of 0.82 milligrams per liter, far exceeding the minimum level of 0.15 milligrams per liter. Police recognized the man immediately and charged him with offenses against public safety, transferring the case to prosecutors. Prosecutors later released the man without posting bail after questioning. He was upset when being detained and damaged the toilet of the detention room, refusing to be questioned for some time, police said. The man relocated to Taiwan 12 years ago and was naturalized six years ago after marrying a Taiwanese woman. He runs a pub in the city’s Yangcheng District (鹽埕), and has a history of drunk driving and arson.
ECONOMY
‘Shortages’ to be addressed
The Cabinet is to propose a policy package to solve the “five industrial shortages” in two weeks, Premier William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. The Executive Yuan has been drafting proposals to alleviate shortages of power, water, land, labor and skilled workers, and the premier would personally chair a news conference in about two weeks to announce the proposals, after the Legislative Yuan has finished a review of the policy implementation framework submitted by the Cabinet, Lai said. It has been one of the Cabinet’s top priorities to solve the “five shortages” to revive the economy, and possible solutions include tax reduction, he said. Lai reiterated the Cabinet’s determination to boost the economy as he thanked the public for his high approval rating.
LABOR
Overtime pay rises 7.41%
The average overtime pay between January and August this year was NT$1,697 per employee, a 7.41 percent increase from last year and the highest increase in the same period in seven years, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. Average hourly overtime pay was NT$212, a record. Average monthly overtime hours between January and August fell 0.2 hours to eight from the same period last year. The increase in remuneration is mainly due to a legal requirement for employers to pay higher overtime pay if they ask employees to work on holidays, DGBAS Census Department Deputy Director Pan Ning-hsin (潘寧馨) said.
IMMIGRATION
Yunlin opens migrant center
The Yunlin County Government has set up a service center to enhance communication between immigrant workers and their employers, as about 18,000 foreign workers work in the county’s industrial and social welfare sectors. The center is tasked with helping contract workers from foreign countries to adapt to the nation’s life, culture, customs and laws. It is to organize workshops for employers, workers and labor brokers to give information on the laws and regulations governing labor-management relations, insurance, work contracts and wages. The center is also to organize activities to promote cultural exchanges and hold language courses for both local employers and their foreign workers.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
Taiwanese should be mindful when visiting China, as Beijing in July is likely to tighten the implementation of policies on national security following the introduction of two regulations, a researcher said on Saturday. China on Friday unveiled the regulations governing the law enforcement and judicial activities of national security agencies. They would help crack down on “illegal” and “criminal” activities that Beijing considers to be endangering national security, according to reports by China’s state media. The definition of what constitutes a national security threat in China is vague, Taiwan Thinktank researcher Wu Se-chih (吳瑟致) said. The two procedural regulations are to provide Chinese