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).
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
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