Society

Nanny and her sister charged for fatal abuse of 1-year-old child

sisters charged in fatal child abuse case
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Two sisters have been formally charged after a months-long investigation into the abuse and death of a one-year-old child placed in their care late last year. According to the investigation, the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF) placed the child in the full-time foster care of a registered nanny named Liu Tsai-hsuan at her home in Wenshan District, Taipei City, in September 2023. On December 24, Liu took the child to hospital claiming that he had choked on milk. The child

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Taiwan prosecutors find Elon Musk not guilty of instructing or inducing people to smoke marijuana

Elon Musk smokes pot on Joe Rogan show
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

The Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office has concluded that Elon Musk is not guilty of inducing others to smoke marijuana, following an investigation arising from accusations made against the American billionaire by lawyer Zoe Lee. On August 23, 2023, Lee, who serves as secretary-general of Taiwan’s Green Party, filed a lawsuit accusing Musk of smoking marijuana during a show aired online in 2018, spreading the notion that marijuana is harmless. Musk also loosened regulations to allow marijuana advertisements on his social

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Road Rage: Driver forces motorcyclist off road, gets shot with pepper gun

man shot with pepper projectile gun
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A man was shot five times with a pepper ball gun after he forced a motorcyclist off the road in a road rage incident in Kaohsiung City, it was revealed after a video of the incident was shared on social media, yesterday, October 30. A helmet-cam video uploaded to social media showed the driver of blue sedan cutting across traffic from the left lane to make a right-hand turn in Sanmin District at around 7:00 am on September 16. According

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Mother sentenced to prison for chaining 5-year-old in bathroom so she could go to work

5-year-old girl chain by neck in bathroom.
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A woman in Kaohsiung City has been sentenced to a three-month prison term for leaving her 5-year-old daughter chained by the neck in a bathroom while she went to work. According to the Kaohsiung District Court, on October 15, 2022, the 30-year-old single mother, named Lee, fed her daughter lunch, then tied a chain around her neck and attached the other end to a crossbar in the shower cubicle of her apartment’s bathroom. Lee then went to work. The girl

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Elon Musk reported to Taiwan prosecutors for promoting marijuana use

composite picture showing Elon Musk smoking pot and pro-cannabis advocates in Taiwan
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , , ,

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been reported to the Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office on the accusation of seducing people to use drugs, putting prosecutors in the awkward position of being obliged to investigate the tech billionaire if prosecutors take recent statements of their Ministry of Justice seriously. The demand for prosecutors to investigate the well-known tech CEO was a response to a statement made by the Ministry of Justice earlier this month that teaching marijuana use on the Internet, “spreading

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Former President’s historic China visit overshadowed by death of baboon

composit image showing former president Ma Ying-jeou and municipal officials bowing to dead baboon
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

The first former president of the Republic of China to visit the People’s Republic of China may have made international headlines in recent days, but the leading news story in Taiwan was the tragic death of a baboon who was found fatally injured upon capture, Monday, March 27. [See previous story: African baboon caught after more than 17 days on the loose in northern Taiwan] An analysis of headlines from a wide range of Taiwanese news outlets collected by a

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High school student commended for using his body as human shield to protect grandmother during earthquake

teenager hugs his grandmother as an earthquake strikes
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

A high school student who shielded his grandmother when a destructive 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Taiwan 11 days ago was awarded a certificate of commendation for filial piety today, September 26, and his actions will become part of the curriculum in his school’s moral education course. Video footage of Qin Tangyan using his body as a human shield to protect his grandmother when the earthquake shook the family’s 6th-floor apartment in Kaohsiung City at 9:41 pm, September 17, went

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Grieving migrant worker forcefully restrained after escaping from quarantine hotel

man wrapped in bedsheet stands off with police in carpark
Society 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

A migrant worker was sprayed with pepper spray and restrained by police and paramedics after he jumped from the third floor of a quarantine hotel in Hualien County yesterday, after receiving news that his mother had died. According to reports, the 29-year-old Indonesian national had been staying in the quarantine hotel after testing positive for COVID-19, and was due to return to work today, May 10. However, on the morning of May 9, the man received news of his mothers

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Law amended to reduce penalty for growing marijuana for own use

cannabis seedlings in pots
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed the third reading of a bill today, approving amendments to the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act to reduce sentences for growing small amounts of cannabis for self use. Under the current law, the manufacture of drugs, including cultivating marijuana, carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison. However, recent judgements have interpreted this as being not commensurate with the principle of proportionality when it comes to small amounts grown by an individual for personal use. As

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Teen slammed with NT$1.5 million dollar fine for playing basketball during quarantine

composite image basketball money
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An 18-year-old man has been issued a fine of NT$1.5 million (US$51,500) after leaving his mobile tracking device at home and going out to play basketball after testing positive for COVID-19, according to reports today, Sunday, April 17. New Taipei City Department of Health said that the resident of Sanxia District tested positive for COVID-19 on April 14, along with other family members and his girlfriend. The entire family was ordered to stay in home quarantine. However, the man left

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Body of former Pegatron VP found on fourth day of search: autopsy reveals fatal injuries

composite image showing search party and missing hiker
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Search and rescue personnel yesterday found the body of a retired tech company executive who went missing while hiking Saturday, March 26, and an autopsy today revealed that he had died after falling and breaking his neck. Search team members from the New Taipei Fire Department found the body of Tsai Chin-kuo at the bottom of a slope around 50 meters below a hiking trail in the Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area in Sanxia District, New Taipei City, at around

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