Basketball star Chang Tsung-hsien (張宗憲) of the Formosa Dreamers was questioned by Taipei prosecutors yesterday in connection with cannabis allegedly found in an e-cigarette during a vehicle check.
Chang was in a taxi on Taipei’s Fuxing N Road (復興北路) early yesterday morning when police officers conducting vehicle checks found an e-cigarette containing cannabis, reportedly in Chang’s possession, Taipei police said.
Chang was taken to a police station to make a statement and then transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning.
Photo: CNA
Prosecutors said that Chang would be charged with illegal possession of a category 2 drug in contravention of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
Chang was quoted as saying that a friend gave him the e-cigarette as a gift at a private party and he did not know that it contained cannabis, but smoked it out of curiosity.
He denied being a habitual cannabis user.
Chang provided samples for testing for illegal drug use and was released after questioning, but restricted to his home during further investigation.
The 31-year-old, also known as Jet Chang, has been a star player this season for the Formosa Dreamers, a Changhua County-based franchise in the ASEAN Basketball League.
After graduating from high school in Taiwan, he traveled to the US and played for Brigham Young University-Hawaii in the National Collegiate Athletic Association using the name Jet Chang.
He then played for the Sichuan Blue Whales in the Chinese Basketball Association, followed by a season with Kia Carnival in the Philippines.
He returned to Taiwan in 2016 to play for the Fubon Braves in the Super Basketball League, before joining the Formosa Dreamers.
Formosa Dreamers chairman Chang Cheng-chung (張承中) in a statement yesterday said that Chang Tsung-hsien had been suspended from the team.
The team would not terminate his contract and instead help him with his rehabilitation, the statement added.
In related news, Taipei police yesterday said that its officers fired 28 gun shots during the pursuit of a drug suspect at about 4am yesterday.
The officers pursued a vehicle with three passengers driven by a male surnamed Cheng (鄭), 40, after it did not stop for a check near Taipei Flora Expo Park, police said, adding that the vehicle rammed a police vehicle before speeding off.
After two officers were injured, police said they discharged their handguns at the vehicle’s tires before calling for backup.
Cheng’s vehicle was stopped by another police vehicle shortly afterward, and Cheng and the three passengers were arrested, police said.
A woman in the vehicle surnamed Hung (洪), 33, who was already wanted on drugs charges, was allegedly found in possession of 2.54g of heroin, police said.
Police said the investigation was continuing and they were also questioning the other two passengers, a man surnamed Lin (林), 38, and a woman surnamed Li (黎), 36.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS