Walking a dog while driving a scooter or other vehicle is punishable by a fine of up to NT$75,000 or two years in prison if it results in the injury or death of the animal, the Taipei City Animal Protection Office said, after a man was apprehended for the offense on Wednesday last week.
The office said it received a report of a dog being dragged behind a scooter by its leash in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山).
It contacted the police, who found surveillance camera footage showing the dog falling over and being dragged while its owner was driving a scooter.
Police were able to find the owner and dog through a photograph provided by a witness.
A veterinarian found no serious injuries aside from lacerations on the dog’s left front leg, but still hospitalized the animal for observation as it was older and underweight, the office said.
Article 5.2.7 of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) prohibits towing a pet behind a vehicle or motorcycle, the office said.
Offenders who in doing so injure an animal can be fined up to NT$75,000, it said.
If the animal dies after being intentionally dragged by a vehicle, the offender could face up to two years in prison, it added, urging the public not to take the risk of walking their dog in such a manner, even if it might be more convenient.
Anyone who sees such behavior is encouraged to take a photograph showing the license plate number and call 1999, the office said.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
A BETRAYAL? It is none of the ministry’s business if those entertainers love China, but ‘you cannot agree to wipe out your own country,’ the MAC minister said Taiwanese entertainers in China would have their Taiwanese citizenship revoked if they are holding Chinese citizenship, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said. Several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑) and Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜), earlier this month on their Weibo (微博) accounts shared a picture saying that Taiwan would be “returned” to China, with tags such as “Taiwan, Province of China” or “Adhere to the ‘one China’ principle.” The MAC would investigate whether those Taiwanese entertainers have Chinese IDs and added that it would revoke their Taiwanese citizenship if they did, Chiu told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper
RSS