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.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
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