CRIME
Woman sentenced over fire
A Kaohsiung woman has been sentenced to 30 days in prison, commutable to a fine, for offenses against public safety stemming from a kitchen fire after her pet cat turned on an induction stove. The 24-year-old defendant, surnamed Chen (陳), and her 27-year-old roommate, surnamed Hung (洪), traveled to northern Taiwan on Jan. 6 last year, leaving their four cats in their apartment, the Kaohsiung District Court said. The verdict can be appealed. On Jan. 8 last year, a fire started in the apartment, burning an area around the stove before triggering the building’s sprinkler system, which extinguished the blaze, it said. The Kaohsiung Fire Department said in a report that one of the cats had started the fire, likely by pushing an iron wire mesh from the counter onto the range, and then touching the stove’s power button, turning it on. The wire, heated by the stove, ignited other items on the counter, it said. The court said that Chen’s negligence had made it possible for the fire to start, endangering other residents of the building. If it had not been for the sprinklers, there could have been extensive damage, and even injuries or deaths, it said. Hung, who was also indicted, is being tried separately.
WEATHER
Reservoirs get rain boost
The catchment area of Zengwen Reservoir (曾文水庫) in Chiayi County’s Dapu Township (大埔) yesterday had the greatest single day of rainfall in 260 days, easing concerns of a water shortage. As of noon, 125mm of rain had fallen upstream of the reservoir, the Water Resources Agency’s southern branch said. The last time the area saw more than 100mm of rain in a single day was on Sept. 10 last year, it said. Wushantou Reservoir (烏山頭水庫) in Tainan’s Guantian District (官田) and Nanhua Reservoir (南化水庫) in the city’s Nanhua District had 72mm and 125mm respectively fall in their catchment areas, it said. Water levels in the Zengwen-Wushantou system had reached 34.93 percent, while the Nanhua Reservoir had reached 28.89 percent, rising slightly from the day before, it added. Meanwhile, the Central Weather Administration said that Typhoon Ewiniar, the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season this year, was 640km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, at 2am yesterday. The storm was moving northeast and was expected to pass east of the Ryukyu Islands and head toward waters southeast of Japan, it said. While it should not directly affect Taiwan’s weather, there is a chance of swells along the Keelung coast, the east coast, Hengchun Peninsula, Green Island (綠島) and Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) today, it said.
SOCIETY
Taichung distillery honored
A Taichung distillery was given Double Gold and Gold awards for its products at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the Taichung City Government said in a statement yesterday. ABAS Distillery Story Hall won Double Gold for its ABAS Original Aged Liquor and a gold for its ABAS 53 percent Aged Liquor, the statement said. The distillery, which was in the competition for the first time, was up against more than 5,500 entries, it said. The distillery was founded in 2003, rebranded as ABAS in 2020 and established its “Distillery Story Hall” in 2022. Double Gold is awarded to entries that receive unanimous gold ratings from the judging panel. Gold is awarded to “exceptional spirits that are near the pinnacle of achievement,” the competition’s Web site says.
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
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