The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City.
The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag.
Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and passports together and consider using hotel safes for valuables.
Photo: Screen grab from the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Web site
The association issued a similar notice in May, after Japanese tourists reported pickpocket incidents at Shilin Night Market and Jiufen. Some visitors also had their credit cards stolen and used fraudulently.
At the time, the association said thefts were frequently reported at sites popular among Japanese tourists, including the National Palace Museum, Martyr’s Shrine, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Longshan Temple, Yongkang Street, Taipei 101, Taipei World Trade Center, Ximending, Shilin, Raohe and Ningxia night markets in Taipei; Jiufen in New Taipei City; and Lotus Pond, Liuhe and Ruifeng night markets in Kaohsiung.
From Jan to Aug. 10, the New Taipei City Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Corps handled 8,034 theft cases, five of which involved Japanese tourists, including three in Jiufen, one at Shifen Waterfalls and one at Lehua Night Market, the corps said.
The financial loss in the five theft cases was about NT$105,806, the corps said.
During the same period, the corps solved a total of 6,141 cases, achieving an arrest rate of 76.44 percent, it added.
“Although thefts reported by Japanese tourists accounted for only 0.06 percent of the cases we handled, we take them very seriously, as they concern travelers’ safety and the city’s tourism image,” the corps said, adding that three additional surveillance cameras would be installed in Jiufen to strengthen theft investigations.
The Taipei City Criminal Investigation Corps said that it has handled 11 pickpocket cases reported by Japanese tourists this year.
Regarding a case in the Yongkang Street area, the corps said it has identified four Philippine suspects who left Taiwan in June, adding that the case has been referred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office.
In a separate incident, a Taiwanese suspect surnamed Wang (王) was arrested after allegedly pickpocketing a Japanese tourist on the bus, it said.
In addition to increasing patrols in “hotspots” for pickpockets and cooperating with New Taipei City police, the corps in Taipei said it would regularly monitor repeat pickpocket offenders at home and abroad and invite the Criminal Investigation Detachment of Aviation Police Bureau and the National Immigration Agency’s Border Affairs Corps to investigate similar cases in the future.
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