A New Taipei City man was under investigation for animal abuse after he allegedly killed his girlfriend’s poodle, the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said on Saturday.
On Thursday, animal protection officers and police entered a home in the city’s Wugu District (五股) in response to a complaint that the owner, surnamed Kuo (郭), had killed the dog by hanging, the office said.
Police interviewed Kuo, his girlfriend, her daughter and others living in the house, the office said, adding that police also seized messages and photographs from smartphones found at the residence.
Kuo later confessed that he had killed the dog, it said.
Police suspect that the killing was related to Kuo’s alleged abusive behavior toward his girlfriend and her daughter, the office said.
Kuo told investigators that he was angry at his girlfriend for playing mahjong and that killing the dog made him feel better, it said.
The office handed the case to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office and recommended that Kuo be charged with animal abuse, which is punishable by up to two years in prison or a NT$2 million (US$69,190) fine, it said, citing the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法).
The office notified the New Taipei City Department of Social Welfare that Kuo might be a threat to his family, it said, adding that it is seeking to bar him from owning a pet and require him to take animal rights classes.
“Pets should never be treated as tools for the emotional blackmail of one’s significant other,” office director Huang Chia-wen (黃嘉文) said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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