Two men suspected of spray-painting graffiti on trains in Taichung have departed Taiwan, despite a nationwide search involving more than 200 officers, the Taichung City Police Department said yesterday.
The two suspects, a Czech and a German who arrived in Taiwan on Tuesday last week, flew to Tokyo from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday last week, the department said.
The department added that 200 officers had been involved in checking footage from 120 surveillance cameras to track down the suspects, who were identified by personal information left at a bank.
.Photo: CNA
Despite the efforts, the duo departed Taiwan before they could be arrested, police officials said.
The two men are the prime suspects in the vandalism of two MRT cars at a station in Taichung and are connected to other graffiti incidents involving MRT trains in Kaohsiung and Taipei, as well as a Taiwan Railways Administration train in New Taipei City, police said.
A task force comprising police officers and the Investigation First Brigade of Taichung’s Criminal Investigation Corps was formed, which liaised with the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office after reports of graffiti were made on Friday last week, the Taichung department said.
The investigation showed that the suspects evaded surveillance cameras, varied their routes and changed their clothes frequently, it said.
Prosecutors said that the men were put on a wanted list, but police did not say what measures would be taken to apprehend the suspects, who face fines of NT$10,000 to NT$1 million (US$314 to US$31,393).
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