New Taipei City

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

composite image showing speeding motorcycle and crash
Traffic Accidents 
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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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Shipping company exempted from paying damages to fishing industry for 2016 oil spill

composite image of TS Lines freighter and oil pollution
Marine and Fisheries 
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Taiwan’s High Court today ruled that the owners of a freighter that ran aground on the north coast in 2016, causing an oil spill, does not have to pay compensation to local fishermen as there is no proof of damage to the fishery. The TS Lines ship, TS Taipei ran aground on the coast in Shimen District on March 9, 2016, and began to break in half on March 24. The subsequent spill of heavy oil affected the coast of

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6 injured after car crashes into sidewalk arcade in New Taipei City

injured pedestrians are seen on the sidewalk after car crashes into arcade
Traffic Accidents 
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six people were taken to hospital, fortunately none with life-threatening injuries, after a car veered onto the sidewalk after being hit by a taxi making an illegal left turn in Luzhou District, New Taipei City yesterday, July 3. According to the police report and video footage of the incident, the taxi driven by a 47-year-old man, named Zhang, made an illegal left turn on Sanmin Road and hit the front fender of a white SUV at around 10:30 pm. The

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Drunk driver hits and kills road worker, attempts to leave the scene of the accident

screenshot showing BMW Z4 roadster after fatal accident
Traffic Accidents 
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A road construction worker died after being hit by a drunk driver in New Taipei City in the early hours of this morning, and his fellow workers used their construction vehicles to block the way after the offending driver attempted to drive away from the scene of the accident. According to reports, at around 2:00 am a 29-year-old woman driving a BMW convertible from Taipei City to Tamsui District hit a 54-year-old traffic controller, named Fang, who was directing traffic

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Gourmet restaurant couple suspected to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning: stove found not turned off properly

La Foresta restaurant facade
Health and Safety 
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A couple found dead in their Italian style restaurant in New Taipei City yesterday died of carbon monoxide poisoning due to an improperly turned off stove, according to a preliminary investigation. An employee of the restaurant who had been resting at home after finishing the lunch shift at around 2:00 pm, returned shortly before 5:00 pm to find the restaurant locked, and the couple not responding to his phone calls. The 22-year-old man, named Shen, eventually called a former employee

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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 
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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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Search for missing retired Pegatron VP enters third day

composite image showing search party and missing hiker
Society 
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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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Police officer shot: arrests suspect before going to hospital

composite image showing arrest and handgun
Crime and Criminals 
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A police officer was shot in the leg by a suspect, but made sure the shooter was handcuffed and arrested before he sought medical attention in New Taipei City last night, March 28. A group of seven police detectives from Tamsui Police Precinct went to Linkou District to arrest a 42-year-old man, named Chen, wanted on suspicion of fraud. When the officers approached Chen in the basement carpark of a residential community on Wenhua Road at around 8:30 pm, Chen

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Drunk driver pulled out of Tesla before car consumed by fire

Tesla Model X on fire after crash
Traffic Accidents 
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A drunk driver was pulled out of a Tesla by passersby before the car went up in flames, following a single-vehicle crash in New Taipei City in the early hours of this morning, Sunday, March 27. The 53-year-old driver, named Lee, is believed to have lost control of the vehicle in rainy conditions at the intersection of Wenshan Road and Xinguang Road in Shenkeng District at around 4:00 am. According to the investigation the car hit a traffic island and

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