To combat financial fraud, post office ATMs at 12 locations nationwide have begun limiting late-night withdrawals to NT$10,000 per transaction between 11pm and 3am as part of efforts to curb fraud. The state-run postal company introduced the measure after the Criminal Investigation Bureau identified the nation’s top 10 “fraud courier hotspots,” six of which were at post offices.
The hotspots include Xuefu Post Office in Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔), Puzi Post Office in Chiayi County, Zhengyi Post Office in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重), Hukou Post Office in Hsinchu County, Zhengbei Post Office in Yunlin County’s Douliou City (斗六) and Nanyang Post Office in Taipei.
Others are the Sanchong branch of the Cooperative Bank in New Taipei City, the Ximen branch of First Bank in Taipei, a 7-Eleven on Xining S Road in Taipei and Cathay Life Insurance’s Sanxia-Haishan Office in New Taipei City.
Photo: CNA
Taipei’s Nanyang Post Office last week posted a notice that cash withdrawals made between 11pm and 3am would be capped at NT$10,000 per transaction. The rule also applies to customers withdrawing funds without using ATM cards, it said.
Twelve post offices nationwide have been selected to implement the measure, but their locations would not be disclosed for fraud-prevention purposes, the company said.
Separately, Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp has announced it would introduce a “Quiet Car” policy on Sept. 22, following recent revisions to passenger regulations.
Under the new rules, passengers are required to use headsets when listening to music or watching videos in train cabins, and move to foyers to make phone calls. Staff would be authorized to ask passengers to disembark if they repeatedly ignore warnings.
Passengers who sit or lie in train aisles, foyer passageways or station floors — thereby obstructing boarding, riding or queuing — or who refuse to occupy their assigned carriages and seats would have their transportation contracts canceled if they fail to comply, the company said.
The rule would also take effect on Sept. 22.
Also starting this month, the Chinese-language signage for designated seats for people with disabilities, elderly people, women and children on public transport would be changed from “courtesy seats” (博愛座) to “priority seats” (優先席). The updated signs would depict a wider range of people, including those who are physically challenged or experiencing physical discomfort.
Meanwhile, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) announced that the publicly funded HPV vaccination program would be expanded to include boys, in addition to junior-high school girls.
This would apply to about 110,000 boys entering school this academic year, making Taiwan the first country in East Asia to offer the full two-dose HPV vaccine series free of charge to males, the HPA said.
A fertility subsidy pilot program launched by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for people with breast or blood cancer also took effect yesterday.
Under the program, people between 18 and 40 are eligible for up to NT$70,000 in egg-freezing subsidies or NT$8,000 for sperm freezing, with each person limited to participating twice in their lifetime.
The ministry estimated that the program would reach 600 people in the first year.
New amendments that loosen restrictions on families with live-in migrant caregivers also came into effect yesterday, expanding access to services ranging from nutrition to transportation. Families with migrant caregivers can now use day-care and family-care services, the ministry said.
Subsidies for transportation services were raised from NT$100 to NT$115 per trip in general areas, and from NT$120 to NT$140 in indigenous and remote areas, it said.
Starting yesterday, people aged 15 to 29 who have not been enrolled in school or employed in full-time work for at least 60 days are eligible for the Ministry of Labor’s youth employment program.
Participants who are looking for work would be offered a monthly allowance of NT$6,000, up from NT$5,000, for up to three months, bringing the maximum total allowance to NT$18,000.
Participants who gain employment would be offered a NT$20,000 bonus for remaining employed for 90 days, and another NT$10,000 bonus for remaining employing for 180 days.
Altogether, participants could receive up to NT$48,000 in support.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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