Bus Rolls Over after Suspected Brake Failure

bus rollover accident on Yangde Boulevard

July 31, 2018July 31, 2018 Phillip Charlier 1 Comment bus-accident, Taipei City

The driver of an empty school bus suffered broken ribs and bruises after the bus rolled over on a downhill section of Yangde Boulevard in Shilin District, Taipei City, this morning July 31. The bus had delivered students to Huaxing High School at 7:00am and was returning to the depot when, according to the 60 year-old driver, Mr Weng, the brakes failed as it was heading downhill. As the bus accelerated, it veered into the center of the road, knocking

Fire

July 30, 2018August 1, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment factory fire, Taoyuan City

A fire at a plastics factory in Taoyuan City was finally extinguished this morning after firefighters battled the blaze for 16 hours. The fire broke out in a plastics scrap yard located next to the factory in Guanyin District yesterday at around 3:00pm, and spread quickly due to the large amount of stored flammable materials. A total of 176 firefighters and 41 vehicles were dispatched to fight the blaze. The fire produced a large pall of thick, black smoke, which

Violent Crimes

July 28, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment murder-robbery, New Taipei City, Xinzhuang District

Three suspects have been arrested after an elderly woman and her daughter were found bound and gagged, one dead, and one unconscious, in their Xinzhuang District apartment on the evening of July 26. At around 8:00pm Thursday evening, a man named Lee called police after being unable to contact his mother and sister, and finding the door of their Zhonghe Road residence locked. After firefighters forced the door open, the two women were found bound, gagged, and blindfolded, laying on

Animals

July 26, 2018July 26, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment animal cruelty, dogmeat, dogs

Police and animal welfare officials ended a three month long investigation after finding evidence that two men had adopted 20 stray dogs from animal shelters, and sold them to be slaughtered for meat in Taichung City. In March this year, after an investigation by the Miaoli County Animal Protection and Epidemic Prevention Bureau, two men named Qiu – an uncle and nephew, were fined NT$30,000 each after being found guilty animal cruelty offences for trapping stray dogs using wire traps.

Crime and Criminals

July 26, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment armed-robbery, bank robbery

A man suspected of robbing a bank at gunpoint in Taichung City July 20 was arrested in Pingtung County this morning after 6 days on the run. The suspect was found to be in possession of an Uzi sub-machine gun. See previous story: Armed Bank Robber Flees with NT$1.2 Million On the afternoon of July 20, the suspect, Mr Ou (歐), 44, who has previous criminal records including murder and public endangerment, allegedly entered a bank in Shalu District, Taichung

Society

July 25, 2018July 26, 2018 Phillip Charlier 3 Comments groping, sexual harassment

A Canadian citizen on a tourist visa, who was restricted from leaving the country while facing charges for sexually harassing two women in Taipei City in April, and then arrested again for harassing a woman on July 10, has been nabbed for the third time, after allegedly squeezing a woman’s buttocks on a bus. Mounib Bouazza, 27, was arrested yesterday, July 24, after following a woman and attempting to strike up a conversation with her next to the Sanli TV

A man prepares for gastric bypass surgery

Crime and Criminals

July 23, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment fraud, obesity, wanted criminal

A man who was once known as the “the fattest man in Asia” was arrested in Kaohsiung City after being on the run for more than year over criminal charges for fraud and embezzlement. Wu Yi-zheng (吳奕政) first came to public attention in 2012, when at 19 years old he was said to be the fattest man in Asia. The teenager weighed 226 kilograms and was 163 centimeters tall at the time. Wu made the news again the following year

Traffic Accidents

July 22, 2018July 22, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment electric bicycle, fatal accident, foreign workers

Two Vietnamese foreign workers died after they were hit by a car while riding an electric bicycle in Taichung City late last night, July 21. At around 11:00pm, a 30 year-old woman was riding the bicycle carrying a 26 year-old male passenger on Jiahou Road in Houli District. While on a bridge that crosses Freeway 1, they were hit from behind by a car. A motorist who witnessed the accident pulled over and immediately called 119. Paramedics rushed the couple

suspect vehicle in which corpse was found

Violent Crimes

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment homicide, murder, Taichung City

The driver of a car that crashed into a guardrail on National Highway 6 in Nantou County was arrested today, after police detected the smell of a decomposing body in the car, and found the corpse of a female in the rear luggage compartment. At around 10:00am this morning, emergency services received a call from the public that a car had crashed into the guardrail in the westbound lane of the highway near the Puli Interchange. Highway police were dispatched

Protest

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment CKS Memorial Hall, Taipei City

The statue of Chiang Kai-shek at CKS Memorial Hall in Taipei City was splashed with red paint today, as Taiwan Independence activists protested wasting Taiwan’s resources on maintaining Chinese authoritarian relics. At around 9:30am, youth activists from the group From Ethnos to Nation (FETN) entered the memorial hall and threw paint bombs at the huge statue of former President of the Republic of China, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. The activists then unfurled banners in Taiwanese and English that read, “Eliminate Chinese

suspected bank robber flees on motorcycle

Crime and Criminals

July 20, 2018July 20, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment armed-robbery, bank robbery, Taichung City

A man in Taichung City entered a bank with a pistol, fired one shot into the ceiling and jumped the counter, stealing NT$1.2 million, before fleeing on a motorcycle, today, July 20. At around 10:30am, a man wearing a black shirt, jeans, and a pink motorcycle helmet entered the Taiwan Cooperative Bank on Shatian Road in Shalu District and shouted “Robbery!” after firing one shot into the ceiling. Frightened bank workers backed away as the man jumped the counter and

Bus Rolls Over after Suspected Brake Failure

Plastics Factory Burns for 16 hours

Three Arrested in Xinzhuang Murder-robbery Case

20 Stray Dogs Adopted and Slaughtered for Meat

Bank Robber Arrested: Uzi Sub-machine Gun Confiscated

Foreign Tourist Serial Harasser Strikes Again

Asia’s Fattest Man becomes Taiwan’s Fattest Felon

2 Migrant Workers Die after Bicycle hit by Car

Minor Traffic Accident leads to Murder Investigation after Corpse found in Car

CKS Statue Splashed with Red Paint at CKS Memorial Hall

Armed Bank Robber Flees with $1.2 Million NTD