Taipei police yesterday apprehended a COVID-19 patient after he allegedly escaped from a hospital isolation ward following a scuffle with officers.
The man, surnamed Chen (陳), 71, was arrested at his residence in Wanhua District (萬華) hours after his flight from the hospital, a Taipei Police Department spokesman said.
Chen, a confirmed COVID-19 case who was supposed to be undergoing quarantine, at about half past midnight yesterday allegedly visited the emergency room of Taipei City Hospital’s Renai branch complaining of a headache and insomnia, the spokesman said.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
As Chen was known to be infected with COVID-19, doctors placed him in a modular patient unit outside the hospital complex to await medical attention, he said.
At about 3:30am, Chen became agitated and asked for sleeping pills, then beat the unit’s glass divider with a wooden stick, the spokesman said.
The hospital called the police and the responding officers subdued Chen after a short struggle, he said.
Medical personnel then administered a tranquilizer to put Chen to sleep, the spokesman said.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office had issued an arrest warrant for Chen in connection to an unrelated assault that occurred last month, he said.
The responding officers found out about the arrest warrant, but could not take Chen into custody, as they lacked protective equipment and facilities to deal with an infected person, he added.
Later in the morning, Chen woke up in the unit and fled via the back door, avoiding the medical staff watching the area, the spokesman said.
Chen took the MRT to Longshan Temple before returning home on foot, he said, adding that police went to his apartment to arrest him a few hours later.
First responders then returned Chen to quarantine at a medical facility, he added.
The Taipei Department of Health said in a statement that leaving quarantine without permission is a contravention of the Special Act for Prevention, Relief and Revitalization Measures for Severe Pneumonia with Novel Pathogens (嚴重特殊傳染性肺炎防治及紓困振興特別條例).
Offenders can face two years in prison or a fine of NT$200,000 to NT$2 million (US$7,215 to US$72,150), it said.
The Grand Hotel Taipei on Saturday confirmed that its information system had been illegally accessed and expressed its deepest apologies for the concern it has caused its customers, adding that the issue is being investigated by the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau. The hotel said that on Tuesday last week, it had discovered an external illegal intrusion into its information system. An initial digital forensic investigation confirmed that parts of the system had been accessed, it said, adding that the possibility that some customer data were stolen and leaked could not be ruled out. The actual scope and content of the affected data
DO THEY BITE IT? Cats have better memories than people might think, but their motivation is based entirely around the chance of getting fed Cats can remember the identity of the people who fed them the day before, Taipei-based veterinarians said on Friday, debunking a popular myth that cats have a short memory. If a stray does not recognize the person who fed them the previous day, it is likely because they are not carrying food and the cat has no reason to recognize them, said Wu Chou Animal Hospital head Chen Chen-huan (陳震寰). “When cats come to a human bearing food, it is coming for the food, not the person,” he said. “The food is the key.” Since the cat’s attention is on the food, it
A New York-based NGO has launched a global initiative to rename the nation’s overseas missions, most of which operate under the name "Taipei," to "Taiwan Representative Office (TRO)," according to a news release. Ming Chiang (江明信), CEO of Hello Taiwan, announced the campaign at a news conference in Berlin on Monday, coinciding with the World Forum held from Monday through Wednesday, the institution stated in the release. Speaking at the event, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) said she believed this renaming campaign would enable the international community to see Taiwan
TOO DANGEROUS: The families agreed to suspend crewed recovery efforts that could put rescuers in danger from volcanic gases and unstable terrain The bodies of two Taiwanese tourists and a Japanese pilot have been located inside a volcanic crater, Japanese authorities said yesterday, nearly a month after a sightseeing helicopter crashed during a flight over southwestern Japan. Drone footage taken at the site showed three bodies near the wreckage of the aircraft inside a crater on Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture, police and fire officials said. The helicopter went missing on Jan. 20 and was later found on a steep slope inside the Nakadake No. 1 Crater, about 50m below the rim. Authorities said that conditions at the site made survival highly unlikely, and ruled
RSS