The Hsinchu District Court has sentenced a man to seven months in jail for firing fireworks at a private residence.
The ruling said a man surnamed Shan (單), who held a grudge against a man surnamed Hsieh (謝) over private quarrels, at 4:30pm on Aug. 3 and 5am on Aug. 12 last year fired skyrocket fireworks at Hsieh’s residence, which threatened his life, body and property.
Shan’s actions terrorized Hsieh and threatened his personal security, it said.
Photo copied by Tsai Chang-sheng, Taipei Times
Shan denied that he was threatening Hsieh, adding that he was not trying to intimidate anyone, it said.
He told the court that he did not target Hsieh, and that none of the skyrockets were aimed at Hsieh’s residence.
After reviewing closed-circuit television footage, a judge found that the skyrockets set off the first time by Shan were aimed in a particular direction instead of the sky, and those set off the second time fell inside Hsieh’s yard, emitting thick smoke.
Shan also hurled verbal abuse after firing the skyrockets, threatening to repeat his actions if Hsieh dared to visit his grandparents again, the judge said.
In light of the evidence, Shan shooting skyrockets twice in front of Hsieh’s residence was clearly an act of intimidation against Hsieh, the ruling said.
It said it was common sense that aiming fireworks at the residence was intended to send a message, enough to frighten the victim and threaten their life, body and property, thus constituting the offense of threatening personal security, for which Shan was charged.
As Shan had denied the crime and said during the trial that he would again shoot skyrockets toward the victim’s residence, expressing no regret for the incidents, the judge sentenced him to seven months in prison, which can be commuted to a fine, the ruling said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
An inauguration ceremony was held yesterday for the Danjiang Bridge, the world’s longest single-mast asymmetric cable-stayed bridge, ahead of its official opening to traffic on Tuesday, marking a major milestone after nearly three decades of planning and construction. At the ceremony in New Taipei City attended by President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shih-kai (陳世凱) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜), the bridge was hailed as both an engineering landmark and a long-awaited regional transport link connecting Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里)
RSS