A Taiwanese traveler who was detained by police on Sunday when transiting through Abu Dhabi International Airport has been released from custody, but is still not allowed to leave the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The ministry in a statement said its office in Dubai received a call from the man’s family yesterday at 1:30am, informing the office that he had been released from detention.
Despite the release, the Yunlin County man surnamed Chen (陳), still has to report to police to have his travel restrictions lifted, and that cannot happen until Wednesday because of a national holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from today to Tuesday, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of Chen’s wife
The ministry did not elaborate on why the man was still not allowed to leave the country.
In the meantime, the office in Dubai — in charge of all UAE affairs — has established contact with the man after his release and is putting him up in the office’s dormitory, office director Eric Chen (陳俊吉) said.
Before the release, the Dubai office had remained in contact with Abu Dhabi police and the man’s family, but it had yet to receive any clarification on why the man was taken away by police, the ministry said.
The ministry said it first received a call for help on Monday from the man’s wife, surnamed Yang (楊), who was traveling with her husband, and was told that Chen had been taken away by five armed police officers as they were about to board a connecting flight to go on a 16-day tour of Turkey.
Yang said she was not able to ask why her husband was being detained and, having cleared immigration, had to board the flight to Istanbul with other members of the tour group they were part of, the ministry said.
Soon after receiving the phone call, the Dubai office contacted Abu Dhabi police to get information about the case.
Abu Dhabi police briefed the office on the incident early on Wednesday, but didn’t provide details on why Chen was detained, the ministry said.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS