Two people at a tech company in Miaoli County have been indicted in a case from 2021, when a large illegal shipment of a drug known as laughing gas was seized at the border, prosecutors said on Thursday.
The company’s owner, surnamed Wei (魏), and an employee surnamed Hsiao (蕭) were indicted on charges of attempting to obtain unlawful gain by fraud, the Miaoli District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement.
The charges stem from a case in 2021, when Keelung customs officials intercepted and seized 54 tonnes of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, which had been shipped in three containers from Hong Kong, prosecutors said.
Photo: Chen En-hui, Taipei Times
The contents of the containers had been falsely declared as shielding gases, which are used in industrial welding to prevent bubbles and splatters, the statement said.
The laughing gas, which could have filled 10,800 5-liter canisters, was the largest volume ever seized by customs officers in the nation, it said.
A special task force assigned to the case later obtained a warrant to search the tech company in Miaoli County, and Wei and Hsiao were summoned for questioning, it added.
They denied any involvement in the case, and said the laughing gas might have been mistakenly shipped to Taiwan by the seller, prosecutors said.
However, after examination of documents, the task force concluded that the two suspects had sought to smuggle the laughing gas into the country for illegal gain, the statement said.
It is illegal to purchase, sell and use nitrous oxide in Taiwan.
The gas is used legitimately in hospitals, at dental surgeries and in professional kitchens, but supplying it for its psychoactive effects is illegal.
Measures have been taken to minimize damage from Chinese espionage, the Ministry of National Defense said on Monday, in response to an alleged plan to deliver a Chinook helicopter to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese-language CTWANT magazine earlier in the day reported that a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) was approached by Chinese officers with an offer to evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict. In exchange, Hsieh was asked to fly a CH-47F Chinook helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait, the magazine said. Hsieh initially declined, but accepted after he was
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
RSS