Author: Phillip Charlier

Factory fire leads to school evacuation, classes suspended for one day

Plume of thick, black smoke from fire at tire recycling plant
Fire 
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An elementary school was evacuated yesterday, and classes will be suspended today, after a fire in a nearby tire recycling factory emitted a plume of thick, black, toxic-smelling smoke in Bali District, New Taipei City. The New Taipei City Fire Department received reports of a fire at the Xianxiang Technology Company tire recycling factory on Guanhai Avenue at 1:52 pm. 72 vehicles and 155 personnel were dispatched to deal with the fire. Four employees were sent to hospital with minor

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National rowing champ dies after crashing scooter, falling into 14-meter-deep sewer construction pit

sewer construction pit
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

A 28-year-old athlete who won gold at the 2018 Asian Games was found dead at the bottom of a sewer construction pit five hours after he crashed his scooter in Taoyuan City, yesterday, February 16. Construction workers arriving at the work site on Guoji Road at around 8:30 am Thursday morning found signs that someone had crashed through the construction fence. After noticing that the anti-fall safety net was also broken, the workers immediately started pumping water out of the

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5 suspects involved in viral road rage incident arrested

composite image of suspect wielding baseball bat and flanked by police after arrestect wielding basebal
Violent Crimes 
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Five men suspected to have smashed the windshield of a truck in a road rage incident in New Taipei City have been arrested after video footage of the incident went viral on social media. According to media reports, the five men were part of a group of more than 10 who were traveling from southern Taiwan’s Chiayi County in three cars when the incident occurred at the Sanxia Interchange on Friday, February 3, at around 3:00 pm. Dashcam footage from

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Puppy “adopted” by monkey so cute: but this story does not have a happy ending

A Formosan macaque holds a puppy while eating a banana
Animals 
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An abandoned pup which appeared to have been adopted by a Formosan macaque in Chiayi County was found dead several days after local residents attempted to stop animal rescue workers from separating the unlikely pair. The male Formosan macaque had been resident in the vicinity of Dongshi Bridge in Dongshi Township for more than a year. As the coastal township is outside the natural range of macaques, and the normally social animal lived alone, animal welfare workers suspect that the

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Police seize submachine gun in Taichung City

Škorpion vz. 61 submachine gun
Crime and Criminals 
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A man in Taichung City has been charged for offenses under the Control of Guns, Ammunition, and Knives Act after police found a Czech-made submachine gun in his possession. Taichung City Police Department Criminal investigation Corps said that during a drug trafficking investigation they had received information that a man named Ho was armed with a submachine gun. Police obtained a search warrant and pulled Ho’s vehicle over on Chaoma Road in Xitun District. A search of Ho’s car turned

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Driver crashes into traffic sign then continues driving with sign stuck on car

composite image showing car driven with road sign stuck to it
Traffic Accidents 
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Road users in Taichung City and Changhua County were stunned to see a car being driven on an expressway with a traffic divider sign mounted on the hood earlier this week, and a man went to a police station today to explain what had happened after seeing the story reported on TV news. Multiple drivers uploaded video footage to social media of an SUV on Provincial Highway 74 heading southbound with the traffic divider stuck to the front of the

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Air Force plane makes emergency belly landing in southern Taiwan

early warning aircraft after emergency belly landing
Military Affairs 
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All crew members are safe after an emergency belly-landing of E-2K early warning aircraft in Pingtung County this morning, November 25, Taiwan’s Air Force Command said in a press release. According to reports, the E-2K belonging to the Early Warning Aircraft 2nd Squadron of the Electronic Warfare Brigade departed at 9:50 am on a routine training mission. When preparing to land shortly after 11:00 am, an abnormality in the landing gear was reported. Flight officer, Major Chang Wei-ye, landed the

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Motorcycle rider killed after hitting taxi driving with lights off on expressway

composite image showing speeding motorcycle and crash
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

A motorcycle rider died at the scene after slamming into the back of a taxi at high speed on Expressway 64 in New Taipei City last night, and the taxi driver, who was driving with headlights off, is being investigated on charges of negligent death. Police received a report of an accident at the 25.5 kilometer mark of Expressway 64 in Zhonghe District at 10:57 pm. Dashcam footage of the accident taken from a car that was traveling at 90

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Street racer shot in the leg after causing fatal crash and attacking police officers

composite image showing aftermath of traffic accident and police shooting
Traffic Accidents 
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A man was shot in the leg after attacking police officers attending the scene of a traffic accident in Taipei City early this morning, November 14. According to Taipei City Police, at around 4:20 am a 22-year-old man, named Lee, was racing with an underaged, 16-year-old driver, named Chiang, on Zhongxiao West Road when Lee’s vehicle clipped the rear of another car as they entered the Zhongshan Road underpass. The car hit by Lee went out of control and rolled

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Two Tainan City properties strafed with submachine gun fire: suspected political motivation

composite picture showing police investigating bullet holes and spent shells.
Crime and Criminals 
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The campaign office of Democratic Progressive Party candidate, and a building owned by a member of the Democratic Progressive Party Executive Committee were strafed by gunshots in the early hours of this morning, November 10, in what may be a politically-motivated act 16 days ahead of upcoming elections, November 26. Tainan City Police responded to reports of gunshots fired at the service office of Councilor Hsieh Tsai-wang (謝財旺) at around 3:00 am. Investigators found the steel roller-door of the office

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