Author: Phillip Charlier

Police arrest suspect after headless, limbless corpse found in New Taipei City

composite image showing police and TV news screenshots
Violent Crimes 
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Police in New Taipei City arrested a man suspected of killing his own father, just 12 hours after a headless, limbless corpse was found in a drainage channel in New Taipei City, yesterday, December 8. At around 10:00 am, Wednesday, police received a report that a suspected human body was visible in the water in the channel beside Baoping Road in Yonghe District. A police forensics investigation found that the body was that of a male estimated to have been

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Suspect in execution-style murder extradited from China: suffers seizure during COVID test

heavily armed police, medical workers, and a suspect
Violent Crimes 
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A suspect who fled to China just hours after he allegedly shot and killed a man in New Taipei City collapsed and went into convulsions during a COVID test at the airport, just minutes after he was extradited back to Taiwan. Huang Yung-chun, is wanted in connection with the murder of 45-year-old coffee merchant Ho Ming-hsun. Ho was gunned down in front of his family home in Xindian District on the morning of November 22. The police forensic investigation found

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Pumice from Ogasawara Islands volcano appears on Taiwan’s north coast: nuclear power plants on guard

pumice at keelung
Marine and Fisheries 
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Volcanic pumice originating in the Ogasawara Islands of Japan has drifted to Taiwan’s north coast, and both maritime authorities and the Atomic Energy Council are taking precautions. Eruptions in the Micronesian island group, which includes Iwo Jima, began on August 13, producing enormous drifts of the floating stones that began to clog ports in Okinawa and other parts of Japan last month. See previous story: Volcanic activity, seismic shifts: WWII ships from Battle of Iwo Jima raised from watery graves

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Toddler survives fall from 32nd-floor apartment

Health and Safety 
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A three-year-old girl fell from the 32nd floor of a high-rise residential building in Taichung City, Wednesday, December 8, and survived after landing in a safety net on the second floor. According to reports in United Daily News, the toddler fell from her family’s residence on Zhongxing Road in South District shortly after 1:00 pm. The Taichung City Fire Department received a report of the incident at 1:19 pm and dispatched one fire truck, one ambulance, and 6 personnel to

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Vehicular gymnastics: car flips over and makes perfect landing in Taichung City

composite image of car rolling and on its wheels
Traffic Accidents 
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A driver walked away from a traffic accident with minor bruises after her car rolled over 360 degrees, and landed on its wheels, after a collision at an intersection in Taichung City, Tuesday, December 7. Police received a report of a traffic accident at the intersection of Wulang Street and Guihe Street in Taichung’s West District at 10:45 am. The police report said that an SUV driven by a 46-year-old woman named Wang hit an SUV driven by a 46-year-old

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Search continues for hiker missing in mountains for 14 days

composite image showing missing man and search and rescue personnel
Society 
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Firefighters, aircrews, and civilian volunteers are searching for a man who was last seen when he left a group of fellow hikers in a remote mountain area of Hualien County, November 24. The 52-year-old man, named Lee, left his group of 8 hikers, and turned back on the second day of a hike, feeling that he lacked the physical stamina to keep up. The other hikers continued, and when they reached a ridgeline and had network coverage on November 27,

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Toddler survives fall from 4th floor apartment

hole in awning
Health and Safety 
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A two-year-old boy survived a fall from a window on the 4th floor, after crashing through an awning on the first floor of a residential building in Puli Township, Nantou County, yesterday, December 5. According to reports, the boy’s mother was hanging up the washing on the balcony when he opened a window by himself and fell. The toddler’s older brother said that he had wanted to see the garbage truck (in Taiwan garbage trucks play loud music and have

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Offshore earthquake rattles residents of northern and central Taiwan

earthquake map for 5.3 magnitude earthquake
Earthquakes 
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A 5.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Yilan County on Taiwan’s northeastern coast was felt as a level 3 in parts of Yilan and Hsinchu counties, and a level 1 as far away as Chiayi County. At 9:05 pm, the tremblor struck 33.3 kilometers northeast from the Yilan County Government Office at a focal depth of 106 kilometers. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, the quake was felt with magnitudes as follow: [Level 3]: Niudou in Yilan

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South African man killed in traffic accident in Hualien County

scene of fatal accident in Hualien County
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments ,

A South African man died of his injuries after being hit by a car while riding an electric scooter in Hualien County today, Monday, December 6. A United Daily News report included a video which showed the man, reported to be in his 70s, riding through an intersection against a red light in Ji’an Township when he was hit by a car at high speed. The impact of the crash threw the man through the air for more than 10

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Paragliding accident leaves one man dead in Nantou County

collapsed paraglider wing
Sport 
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Three paragliders from a group of four successfully made emergency landings after hitting turbulence while paragliding in Nantou County, Saturday, December 4, but one man crashed and died. According to a police report, the 48-year-old paraglider, named Wang, launched from Hutou Mountain in Puli Township at around 1:00 pm. At around 3:00 pm, the group were near Nanfang Village on Dongyang Mountain when they hit strong turbulence. Three of the paragliders made emergency landings in a streambed, but Wang’s wing

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Dog lovers plea to save life of pit bull that mauled 3-year-old boy to death

composite image of pit bull on chain and petted by animal care volunteer
Animals 
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Social media users have flooded a county magistrate’s Facebook page, in an attempt to save the life of a dog that mauled a three-year-old boy to death, after an animal protection worker uploaded a video of the pit bull appearing cute, puppy-like, and craving affection. At around 7:00 pm Thursday evening, in Chunri Village, Pingtung County, a three-year-old boy wandered out of his family’s home into a neighboring yard, where an American pit bull terrier was tied to a thick,

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