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.
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
EVA Airways, one of the leading international carriers in Taiwan, yesterday said that it was investigating reports that a cabin crew manager had ignored the condition of a sick flight attendant, who died on Saturday. The airline made the statement in response to a post circulating on social media that said that the flight attendant on an outbound flight was feeling sick and notified the cabin crew manager. Although the flight attendant grew increasingly ill on the return flight, the manager did not contact Medlink — a system that connects the aircraft to doctors on the ground for treatment advice during medical
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday vowed to protest at the EVA Air Marathon on Sunday next week should EVA Airway Corp’s management continue to ignore the union’s petition to change rules on employees’ leave of absence system, after a flight attendant reportedly died after working on a long-haul flight while ill. The case has generated public discussion over whether taking personal or sick leave should affect a worker’s performance review. Several union members yesterday protested at the Legislative Yuan, holding white flowers and placards, while shouting: “Life is priceless; requesting leave is not a crime.” “The union is scheduled to meet with
‘UNITED FRONT’ RHETORIC: China’s TAO also plans to hold weekly, instead of biweekly, news conferences because it wants to control the cross-strait discourse, an expert said China’s plan to expand its single-entry visa-on-arrival service to Taiwanese would be of limited interest to Taiwanese and is a feeble attempt by Chinese administrators to demonstrate that they are doing something, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said the program aims to facilitate travel to China for Taiwanese compatriots, regardless of whether they are arriving via direct flights or are entering mainland China through Hong Kong, Macau or other countries, and they would be able to apply for a single-entry visa-on-arrival at all eligible entry points in China. The policy aims
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