WEATHER
Heavy rain expected
People in northern and eastern Taiwan should be on alert for potential disasters caused by significant rainfall through Wednesday, independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said. Driven by seasonal northeasterly winds and Tropical Storm Fengshen south of Taiwan, the heavy rain is likely to hit northern mountainous regions and northeastern Taiwan the hardest, while residents in Hualien and Taitung counties should also remain on alert, Wu said. As of 2pm yesterday, Fengshen was about 1,130km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving northwest at 27km per hour toward China’s Hainan Island, and was not expected to directly affect Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Daytime highs yesterday ranged between 33°C and 35°C in western Taiwan, and 31°C to 32°C in eastern Taiwan, the CWA said. Temperatures in northern Taiwan would gradually decline during the week through Wednesday, dropping to about 20°C, Wu said. Meanwhile, CWA said a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck off the east coast at 10:04am yesterday. The hypocenter of the temblor was below the sea, about 56.9km east-northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 14.3km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage.
Photo courtesy of the Central Weather Administration
CRIME
Newborn’s body found
The body of a newborn baby was found in a feed sack outside a home in Chiayi County yesterday, police said, adding that they are searching for the mother. The body was retrieved in the morning after a resident in the county’s Lioujiao Township (六腳) reported finding it in an animal feed sack near their family home, police said. The baby showed no visible signs of external injury and appeared to be full-term, prosecutors said. An autopsy is required to determine the cause of death and whether the baby had been born alive, they said. Meanwhile, a special team has been assembled to find the baby’s mother, police said. The main suspect is an Indonesian woman who was employed by the family of the person who found the body, police said. The person told the police that their mother thought the woman, who was the household’s caregiver, appeared to be pregnant, and that she had not been seen since earlier yesterday, police said. However, neighbors said that the caregiver showed no obvious signs of pregnancy, police said.
LAW
Evidence rules take effect
Police must now obtain approval from prosecutors before demanding that suspects provide a urine sample in non-urgent cases, following amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure (刑事訴訟法). The amendments, which passed the Legislative Yuan on Friday, say that police are only allowed to collect a non-invasive urine sample over a suspect’s objections in cases in which immediate collection is needed to preserve evidence. In such instances, police must still seek prosecutors’ approval within 24 hours. If prosecutors decide the collection was not justified, the samples and test results are to be destroyed within three days. The amended law also stipulates that police inform suspects of the prosecutor’s approval, which is required for each sample provided. Meanwhile, those who are forced to provide a urine sample over their objections can apply for a court order within 10 days asking for the sample and test result to be destroyed. According to the law revision, the court may not dismiss the petition on the grounds that the collection has already been completed.
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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