A section assistant at the Taipei Department of Social Welfare was indicted yesterday for allegedly selling a cannabis vape pen in the City Hall building, prosecutors said.
The assistant, a woman surnamed Liu (劉), faces a maximum life sentence for selling the item to a man surnamed Chan (詹) on Jan. 2, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Prosecutors indicted Liu under the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act (毒品危害防制條例), which carries a minimum 10 year prison sentence and a maximum life sentence for the sale of a Category 2 narcotic, it said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Police were led to Liu after stopping a car Chan was driving at a roadside inspection station late on Jan. 2 at the intersection of Xinhai Road and Fuxing S Road, the office said.
Police searched Chan, citing “suspicious behavior,” and found the vape pen on him, it said, adding that he told officers it was bought at Taipei City Hall.
After looking at surveillance footage, police identified Liu as the seller and she was arrested with her boyfriend, surnamed Chou (周), following a series of raids, during which police seized 35g of cannabis, 18 vape pens, cannabis seeds and drug paraphernalia.
The two were arrested on March 6 and released later that month on bail of NT$200,000 each, prosecutors said.
An investigation found that Chou had allegedly purchased more than NT$60,000 of cannabis from a man identified as “Mark” in Taipei since December last year, including vape pens valued at NT$3,500 each, the office said.
Chou gave two of the vape pens to Liu as gifts at the end of last year, one of which she sold to Chan after negotiating the sale on the Line messaging app, it said.
She arranged to deliver the vape pen to Chan in the smoking area on the third floor of Taipei City Hall on Jan. 2, it said.
While Chou admitted guilt, Liu’s statements were inconsistent and she “exhibited a poor attitude and showed no remorse,” prosecutors said.
Liu told investigators that she made no money by selling the vape pen at the same price her boyfriend had purchased it for, the office said.
Chou was also indicted yesterday for possession of cannabis, which carries a much lighter sentence than for the sale of drugs, prosecutors said, adding that the couple’s drug use would be addressed in a separate case.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
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
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
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,
RSS