A sausage thief has made nine-year-old Chiayi resident Tsai Shu-ting (蔡淑婷) want to study harder so she can become a prosecutor one day.
Tsai is among 32 students who received commendations and stipends from the Chiayi City God Temple (嘉義市城隍廟) on Sunday.
Tsai has been raised by her grandparents since she was eight months old, after her father reportedly abandoned the family and her mother died of illness.
Photo: Wang Shan-yen, Taipei Times
Speaking at the award ceremony, she said her grandparents operate a food truck and do odd jobs to make a living.
Someone broke into the truck in April, stealing 300 sausages and the freezer, which made her determined to become a prosecutor one day so she could help provide justice for the downtrodden, she said.
“The thieves are despicable. I hope to become a prosecutor when I grow up to catch those bad guys,” she said.
Her grandfather, Tsai Mao-yuan (蔡茂源), said the theft was a blow to the family because they did not have enough money to be able replace the stolen and damaged equipment and they are surviving on government subsidies.
However, he said he had told his granddaughter that the thief might be even poorer then they are and they should not mourn the loss of mere possessions.
His grandchild is smart and hardworking, he added.
She had previously been commended by her school, Chongwen Elementary School, for good conduct and reading competency.
Temple manager Yeh Yuan-chu (葉源助) said the temple’s education fund prioritizes children from single-parent and low-income families or those with elderly breadwinners.
Elementary students receive NT$2,000, junior-high students receive NT$4,000 and those in senior-high receive NT$60,000, Yeh said, adding that a total of NT$200,000 was given out.
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
RSS