CRIME
Man sentenced for attack
A man who assaulted a station master at a Kaohsiung MRT station in August last year after being asked to refrain from smoking was sentenced to three months in jail, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled. According to court documents, it ruled in November that the 56-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), displayed a lack of respect for public authority by assaulting the station master, a woman surnamed Wang (王), who was carrying out her duties as a public servant. The incident happened at the Kaohsiung International Airport Station on Aug. 22 last year when Wang asked Chen to not smoke on the platform. In response, Chen physically attacked Wang, causing injuries to her head, face and left arm. Local law enforcement arrested Chen after being notified of the incident, and following an interrogation, Kaohsiung prosecutors indicted him on charges of causing injury to another individual. The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp through its lawyers said that the violent attack had imposed mental stress on the staff. It said that Chen’s actions were not only disrespectful of public authority, but also posed a threat to social order and eroded public confidence in using the MRT. Chen later acknowledged his wrongdoing and the court sentenced him to three months in jail, which can be commuted to a fine. The ruling is subject to appeal.
CRIME
Aaron Yan’s request denied
The Shilin District Court has dismissed a motion by Taiwanese actor and singer Aaron Yan (炎亞綸) to remove a travel ban that was imposed after he was indicted in November last year on charges of filming and leaking intimate videos of a minor. The court said that the prohibition on Yan, which is in place until Feb. 25, is an appropriate security measure and that his rights to live and work in Taiwan had not been affected. Yan is a suspect in a serious crime, and he is required to be present in court to confirm facts and evidence, the court ruled. It also said that as a well-known celebrity who could work overseas, Yan clearly had the financial means to live abroad, and given those factors, the court dismissed the motion. Yan also asked the court to order the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reverse its decision not to approve the renewal of his passport while the travel ban was in place. The court rejected the request, saying Yan could file an administrative appeal against the ministry. Yan’s recent appeal came due to his overseas jobs scheduled this month, and he said that he did not pose a flight risk as he was not a foreign national, has a permanent residence in Taiwan and was cooperating with the investigation, according to the district court. Yan also said he needed to work overseas to make a living and save to settle this case and to donate to charity, according to the district court. The ruling can be appealed.
SOCIETY
Woman contacts Osaka office
Taiwan’s representative office in Osaka is assisting a Taiwanese woman who requested help after her home lost electricity and water in the wake of a magnitude 7.5 earthquake that hit central Japan on Monday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said the woman called the Osaka office after moving to a shelter established by the local government. The ministry said that Taiwanese in Japan can contact Taiwan’s main representative office in Tokyo at +81-80-1009-7179 or its Osaka branch office at +81-90-8794-4568 if they need any assistance.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
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