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
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
Read moreMother sentenced to prison for chaining 5-year-old in bathroom so she could go to work
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
Read moreElon Musk reported to Taiwan prosecutors for promoting marijuana use
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
Read moreFormer President’s historic China visit overshadowed by death of baboon
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
Read moreHigh school student commended for using his body as human shield to protect grandmother during earthquake
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
Read moreGrieving migrant worker forcefully restrained after escaping from quarantine hotel
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
Read moreLaw amended to reduce penalty for growing marijuana for own use
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
Read moreTeen slammed with NT$1.5 million dollar fine for playing basketball during quarantine
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
Read moreBody of former Pegatron VP found on fourth day of search: autopsy reveals fatal injuries
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
Read moreSearch for missing retired Pegatron VP enters third day
133 search and rescue personnel gathered at a trailhead in New Taipei City this morning before dividing into search parties to cover 12 routes as a search for a missing hiker enters the third day today, Tuesday, March 29. Tsai Chin-kuo (蔡進國), the 64-year-old former senior vice-president of the Taiwanese electronics manufacturing company Pegatron, was reported missing Sunday, after failing to return from a one-day hike in the Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area in Sanxia District on Saturday, March 26.
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