SAFETY
Go Ocean app use advised
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) is urging beachgoers to check real-time ocean conditions using the Go Ocean mobile app, following a series of drowning incidents as summer draws more people to the coast. The advisory comes after a high-school student drowned off Fangliao Township (枋寮) in Pingtung County on Sunday, one of several fatal or near-fatal incidents linked to dangerous sea conditions in recent weeks, the CGA said yesterday. Developed by the National Academy of Marine Research, the app provides color-coded warnings and integrates data from multiple sources to display wave height, wind speed and current strength. An English-language version of the app is also available. In the event of an emergency, the public is advised to call 118 for assistance, the CGA added.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
SOCIETY
Angler killed by lightning
A man believed to be a migrant worker died yesterday after being struck by lightning while fishing in Taichung. The man, estimated to be about 30 years old, had not yet been identified, as no ID card was found on him, the Taichung Fire Bureau said. The bureau received a report at 4:51pm about a male angler struck by lightning near a bridge in Houli District (后里), prompting emergency personnel to rush to the scene. The man showed no vital signs upon their arrival and was transported to a hospital, where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
TRANSPORT
Taipei halts road project
A plan announced in March by Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to remove a traffic circle at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Keelung Road, as well as an adjacent bus underpass in the city’s Gongguan (公館) area, has been paused following calls from city councilors for greater public consultation. Taipei City Department of Transportation Commissioner Hsieh Ming-hong (謝銘鴻) agreed to postpone the construction, which was scheduled to begin on Saturday next week, after the Taipei City Council’s Transportation Committee passed a motion to hold a public hearing on June 30. The traffic circle sits at the intersection with the highest number of traffic incidents and injuries in Taipei for seven consecutive years, averaging one incident every four days, Hsieh said.
CRIME
Prosecutor scam busted
A Malaysian man has been arrested in Taichung for allegedly collecting cash and bank cards from a 79-year-old woman who was duped in a fake prosecutor scam, police said on Sunday. The Taichung Police Department’s Second Precinct said officers from Liren Police Station spotted the man handing a paper bag and a red envelope to the woman on Shenyang N Road in Beitun District (北屯) on Wednesday last week — a textbook handoff in a cash scam — and called for backup. The woman later told investigators that she had received a phone call from someone claiming to be a “district prosecutor,” who accused her of involvement in a money laundering case and threatened court detention unless she handed over a “security deposit” along with her bank cards for “account monitoring.” She ultimately gave the man NT$3,900 in cash and two bank cards containing a combined total of NT$720,592. Police arrested the man after confirming he was involved in the scam and seized the NT$3,900, two mobile phones, two bank cards, a forged promissory note from the “Taipei District Court” and a sealed envelope.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a
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