Taoyuan City

15 passengers slightly injured after tour bus crash on freeway

bus rollover on freeway
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

Fifteen people were injured, none seriously, after a bus driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed on National Highway 3 in Taoyuan City today, Monday, August 1. Taoyuan City Fire Department said that it received reports about a tour bus crashing and flipping onto its side in the southbound lanes of the Daxi Section of the freeway at 12:20 pm. TCFD dispatched five firetrucks, five ambulances, and 20 personnel to the scene of the accident. Fire fighters assisted the

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Huge warehouse fire produces volcano-like plume seen up to 20 kilometers away

composite image showing fire and smoke plume
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A fire at a logistics center belonging to one of the largest supermarket chains in Taiwan destroyed more than 66,000 square meters, and produced a plume of smoke that could be seen as far as 20 kilometers away, Monday, March 14. The Taoyuan City Fire Department received reports about a fire at the Carrefour Yangmei Logistics Distribution Center in Yangmei Youshi Industrial Park at 7:33 am. TCFD dispatched 35 vehicles and 73 personnel to the scene of the fire. The

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Tesla on Autopilot involved in fatal freeway crash

Tesla, BMW, and road maintenance vehicle on freeway after crash
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The driver of a Tesla involved in a traffic accident that left one dead and two injured was using the Autopilot feature at the time the car crashed, according to reports in United Daily News and Liberty Times. The Tesla slammed into the back of a road maintenance vehicle near the Daxi Interchange on National Highway 3 at 9:48 pm yesterday, March 7. The 46-year-old driver suffered an injured hand, and the badly damaged Tesla was left blocking the outer

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Driver high on laughing gas leads police on slow-speed chase in Taoyuan City

composite image showing laughing gas, nitrous oxide cylinder and car being driven on sidewalk
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A man who was seen inhaling laughing gas while driving refused to stop, and led police on a chase in Taoyuan City yesterday, February 19. Taoyuan City Police Department received a report at 2:50 pm that a man was seen sucking on a balloon, and suspected to be inhaling laughing gas while driving a white Mercedes Benz erratically in Taoyuan District. When police attempted to pull the driver over, the man, named Lu, refused to stop. Lu continued to drive

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Police officers charged over death of suspect under restraint

Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office building and logo
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Five Taoyuan City police officers have been charged on suspicion of negligent homicide after a man died while being suppressed on the ground following an attack on two police officers in 2019. On August 20, 2019, two police officers were dispatched to a restaurant on Guangming Road in Luzhu District following reports of a dispute threatening to turn violent at around 10:30 pm. The two officers, named Lu and Zhong, were confronted by a 37-year-old man named You (pronounced “Yo”)

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Armored vehicle collides with “Swedish tank” during urban combat drill in Taoyuan City

composite image of armored vehicle and civilian vehicle
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An army armored vehicle collided with a civilian car while on combat exercises in Taoyuan City this morning, badly damaging the Volvo sedan, but fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. According to reports in United Daily News, and Liberty Times, the eight-wheel, 22-ton, CM-33 “Clouded Leopard” was engaged in a combat readiness and reconnaissance drill in Luzhu District this morning when it side-swiped a Volvo V40 sedan driven by a 30-year-old man, named Huang, on Nanqing Road at around

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Crane overturns on metro construction project in Taoyuan City

overturned crane
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A large mobile crane overturned while working on an MRT construction project in Taoyuan City yesterday, but fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. According to reports, the crane was being used to lift steel molds during the dismantling of formwork on the construction site of station G13 on the Taoyuan MRT Green Line on Zhongzheng Road in Luzhu District when it tipped over at 1:25 pm. The crane’s boom hit the truck carrying the steel molds, damaged traffic signal

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Police student sentenced to 5-year prison term for importing marijuana

Central Police University and cannabis composite image
Drugs 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , ,

A student of Taiwan’s Central Police University who was expelled and charged for importing marijuana by mail was handed a 5-year prison term by the Taoyuan District Court, today, January 27. According to an investigation by the Taoyuan District Prosecutor’s Office, the 20-year-old man, named Hsu, in collusion with a person identified only with the nickname “Duck,” conspired to import 200 grams of marijuana with the delivery address being Hsu’s home in Taoyuan District. On August 5, Taipei Customs officers

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Cops pass the hat around to help elderly man get through winter after arrest for petty theft

police officer provides essentials to elderly man caught attempting to steal to survive
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Police at a station in Taoyuan City bought food for a man they arrested on suspicion of petty theft, then passed the hat around and sent him off with a little cash in his pocket, hoping that it could help him through the winter. Officers from Guishan District Police Precinct were on patrol last night when they noticed two men apparently having an argument on Wensan Third Street at around 9:00 pm. The police officers stopped to question the men,

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Out of control gravel truck leaves wake of destruction: 2 dead, 4 injured

composite image of truck and car
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

The driver of a gravel truck and one other person died after the truck veered into oncoming traffic before crashing into an abandoned factory building in Taoyuan City this morning. According to reports, the driver, a 48-year-old man named Shi, lost control of the truck on Zhongzheng East Road near the Dayuan Interchange at 6:44 am. Traffic monitor footage shows the truck suddenly veering over a traffic island into oncoming traffic lanes, and hitting two cars before crashing into a

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Pervy toilet signs controversy breaks out in Taoyuan City

signs showing peeping Tom and upskirt symbols
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

The Taoyuan City Government will have public restroom signage in a Hakka culture park in the city redesigned after public criticism that the symbols were degrading to women, and in poor taste. The signs at the Lunping Cultural Landscape Park in Guanyin District depict a male peeping over a wall at a female, and a male lifting a female’s skirt. The unusual and pervy symbols are used to guide users to the public restrooms. The signs have “been around for

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