CRIME
Taichung driver sentenced
The Taichung District Court said it had imposed a “severe punishment” — a prison term of 16 months — on a bus driver who hit and killed a woman and her infant son on a crosswalk. The verdict, which was released on Thursday last week, can be appealed. The Fengyuan Bus Transportation Co driver, surnamed Chen (陳), ran over and killed a woman, surnamed Lee (李), and her one-year-old son, who had right of way on a crosswalk at an intersection in Taichung on Dec. 27 last year. Lee’s husband, an Iraqi national, sustained minor injuries. The verdict said the collision occurred because Chen failed to slow down or stop as was required when making a legal left turn at the intersection. Chen admitted his negligence and said he had not seen the family, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said. The prosecutors’ office invoked the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例) when requesting a heavier sentence for Chen. The driver was convicted of manslaughter, but his sentence was partially reduced because he turned himself in, the verdict said.
ASTRONOMY
Comet to be visible
A newly discovered comet is set to pass through Earth’s skies this month for the first time in about 300 years and those hoping to catch a glimpse of it should use binoculars, the Tainan City Bureau of Education said on Friday. Comet C/2023 P1, also known as Comet Nishimura, was discovered by Japanese astronomer Hideo Nishimura last month, and is set to reach its closest position to Earth on Tuesday, the bureau said. In the early morning hours, it would be around 10° above the horizon near the constellation Leo, the bureau said, adding that the once-in-a-lifetime spectacle would be more visible if binoculars are used. The comet would be closest to the sun on Sunday next week, the bureau said, adding that it would be easiest to see at dusk. Meanwhile, the Tainan Astronomical Education Area said a lunar occultation of Antares — a double super-giant star in the Scorpius constellation — is set to happen on Sept. 21. The moon would pass in front of Antares at 3:56pm, and the star would be visible again at 5:17pm, it said. Sept. 22 before sunrise would be a great time for stargazers to see Mercury, as it would be at its greatest elongation, it added.
CRIME
Canadian man arrested
A Canadian national has been arrested for growing cannabis in his rented apartment in Miaoli County, the National Police Agency (NPA) said on Friday. The man, identified only by the surname Chen (陳), arrived in Taiwan earlier this year to work as a foreign language teacher, the NPA said in a news release. Working in collaboration with Miaoli prosecutors, authorities raided the man’s residence last month and seized four marijuana plants, 472g of finished cannabis products, fertilizer, cannabis seeds and equipment, police said. Chen brought the seeds with him from Canada and learned how to grow cannabis plants through the Internet, police said. He denied growing the marijuana to sell, saying that it was for the personal use of himself and his Indonesian girlfriend in Taiwan, police said. The seized marijuana plants and cannabis products are estimated to have a street value of about NT$2.5 million (US$78,105). The case is being investigated by the Miaoli District Prosecutors’ Office pending charges of contravening the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例).
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
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