By Tsuei Hsiao-hu / The Wild East

These stories are just from a twelve-hour period from midnight to lunchtime, on Tuesday, July 3 and Wed., July 4, 2012. There is a LOT of material. What kinds of crime in Taiwan are you interested in reading about? Please leave your comments/suggestions below.

Kaohsiung brothel client stunned in raid

Gaoxiong (Kaohsiung) municipal police Monday night raided an illicit brothel disguised as a beauty salon and arrested six women, the salon owner and one gob-smacked male client. Police raided the scene while the client and his masseuse were consummating their business transaction. The man, surnamed Li, was reportedly stunned speechless on seeing them.

Restaurant owner jailed for too many grease stains

One too many grease stains led a renowned Japanese restaurant in Taipei to go up in flames, injuring nine. The district court dealt out an eight-month prison sentence to the restaurant’s “negligent” owner. The ruling did not, however, close the door on an appeal.

Junkie duo rides amok

Two Taipei junkies attempting a drive-by purse snatch on a stolen scooter were picked up by police Monday after knocking over their victim in the struggle. Surveillance equipment at the intersection in question showed the two men wrestling with a woman for her purse. The men were immediately identified and arrested. One of the apprehended, surnamed Huang, who was on parole at the time, explained he and his accomplice were in desperate need of quick cash to support their drug habit after being laid off last month.

Kaohsiung police spring sophisticated narcotic ring

Gaoxiong (Kaohsiung) police announced they had unearthed a small but sophisticated drug ring after blowing the lid on a three-month sting operation at a local video arcade. Police have spent the past few days hunting down more than 10 members of the trafficking operation, whose narcotic sales allegedly included heroin and amphetamines. The leader, or “big brother” (大哥), surnamed Jian, was also held on drug-related charges.

Distraught Taichung man commits murder suicide to relieve ‘burdened’ son

An elderly Taizhong (Taichung, central Taiwan) man suffering from mild dimentia killed his wife and himself after losing hope that his beloved would recover from a severe stroke. Reports allege the distraught man chose to drown his wife and hang himself rather than burden his only son with the responsibility of caring for two invalid parents.
The social welfare organization Familycare Taiwan (家庭照顧者關懷總會) urged anyone suffering from suicidal thoughts or depression to call their hotline immediately : 0800-580-097.

Wednesday, Jul. 4, 2012

Kaohsiung police deliver on vow to clean up streets; gang boss and underlings arrested

A gang leader who supplanted his predecessor in a bloody coup and led a violent mob through the streets, attacking cars and people, was arrested Wednesday by Gaoxiong (Kaohsiung高雄) police. Police said they’ve rounded up nine other suspected members of the gang, led by a man surnamed Xu who goes by the nickname “Bao-a”, as part of the government’s effort to clean up the streets. Bao-a initiated a steep incline in the violent behavior of the gang, and even sent his underlings to enter a middle school to extort money from young students, police said.

‘Malevolent’ Hualien chairman held incommunicado on assault charges

A local court has ruled to hold Hualien City’s representative assembly Chairman Huang Zhi-cheng (黃枝成) incommunicado after he was forcibly summoned for questioning over the assault of the assembly’s representative Xie Yi-xuan (謝宜萱). Police said they have evidence that Li Zhi-xing (李志興) asked Huang’s instruction over whether to “fix” 「修理」 Xie, to which Huang nodded in the affirmative.

Pregnant coma-patient gives first signs of life after eight days

Two priests visiting a Taichung, central Taiwan were startled when a pregnant woman who has spent the past eight days in a coma after a car-accident nodded twice during their prayers for her newly born child. The female resident of Taizhong (Taichung, 台中) Ye Zhen-yu (葉貞妤) was driving along the expressway on her way to work last week when a truck overturned her car. Paramedics that arrived on the scene said Ye had fainted, hanging upside down from her seat-belt in the driver’s seat. Her heart and respiration had stopped. They were able to restart her heart and rushed her to hospital to deliver the unborn child via Caesarean birth.

Chiayi wrist-slasher stopped at last minute

Emergency services arriving at motel in Chiayi County (or Jiayi, 嘉義縣) forcibly remanded a woman to a nearby hospital last night after she cut her wrists in a near-successful suicide attempt, police said. The woman was reportedly distressed by issues surrounding her property and her ex-husband’s son. She later explained that she had left her home and booked a room at the motor hotel, determined to end her own life.