Taichung Police Commissioner Hu Mu-yuan (胡木源) quit last night, with National Police Agency Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) telling a press conference that he had approved the resignation.
Hu’s resignation came in the wake of the gunning-down of alleged gang leader Weng Chi-nan (翁奇楠) last Friday.
It was later revealed that four police officers at the crime scene were chatting and drinking tea when the shooting took place, giving rise to rumors of links between the local police and gangs.
Two ranking police officers have been given a demerit by the National Police Agency (NPA) for what was deemed to be misconduct, while the other two were given a strong warning.
The day after the shooting, the police found a vehicle near Nantou County’s Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), which they later confirmed was the car used by the assailant to flee the crime scene.
Nantou police said yesterday that the gunman remained at large and his whereabouts were unknown.
Earlier yesterday Hu had admitted that he had not reported the Weng case to NPA Director-General Wang Cho-chiun (王卓鈞) until Sunday and Taichung Mayor Jason Hu (胡志強) until Tuesday.
“I was preparing a detailed presentation of the case to the mayor after completion of our initial investigations. I am very sorry about the delay,” he said.
With internal police departments and prosecutors investigating alleged connections between Taichung police and local gang members, Hu had pledged to solve the case and find the gunman by the year-end.
“I will offer my resignation if we cannot do it by then,” he had said.
Also yesterday, Jason Hu said that he was determined to deal with the so-called “eight categories of special business,” which are regarded as covers for criminal activities.
“As mayor of this city, I will not back down from a war against gangsters even if my life is threatened,” he said.
The eight categories of “special business” refer to entertainment-related enterprises such as KTV clubs, saunas, night clubs, barber and massage shops, dance halls, discotheques, and tea houses, many of which are said to be run by criminal gangs.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan