Mourning family accuses borough warden of stealing from deceased

2026-10-23

A shocking theft allegation in Miaoli! A family in mourning claims their borough warden slipped into the home of the deceased while the body was still there to steal valuables. More disturbingly, the widow was right there and watched helplessly, as she suffers from dementia and is unable to speak. The warden vehemently denies stealing anything, insisting he was simply helping tidy up because the deceased was his brother-in-law. He’s now firing back, claiming the accusations are nothing more than a politically motivated smear campaign ahead of the local elections. Let’s hear more.

Voice of family member (anonymized)
Accusing borough warden of theft
The body was still in the house. We were waiting for the funeral transport to take him away. That’s when he came and stole the stuff. We thought he was just coming to offer his condolences, as wardens do. We had no idea he was trying to get our foreign caregiver out of the way by telling her to go do things.

Borough Warden
Accused of theft
The deceased was my brother-in-law. I called his kids, and told them that I’d take care of things. The table was very messy, so I grabbed a bag and straightened things out. The person accusing me of theft was actually a classmate of my election opponent.

- He said the widow was his sister.

Voice of family member (anonymized)
Accusing borough warden of theft
They’re not actually siblings-in-law, they’re cousins-in-law. He even knelt down and begged my brother and me to withdraw the lawsuit. He told prosecutors that he didn’t steal anything. But if he really didn’t steal anything, why would he feel like he needs to kneel down and beg us?

Lin Meng-kuan
Police officer
We identified the suspect and seized the relevant evidence. The case has been referred to the Miaoli District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of theft.

The incident reportedly took place earlier this month at a home in Tongxiao. It all came to light after the family could not find reading glasses of the deceased. That prompted the family to check surveillance footage, which is when they found the borough warden had entered the home. They later realized that there was five or six items missing, with a combined value of more than NT$10,000 in total. The warden maintains his innocence and claims the allegations are politically motivated. With both sides offering conflicting accounts, the truth will have to be determined through the legal process.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#theft #boroughwarden #shocking #mourning #slick

里長變竊賊? 闖進喪家涉嫌偷竊里長:幫忙收拾

2026-10-23

苗栗通霄鎮，傳出疑似有里長偷竊!民眾po文指控，里長竟趁里民家中治喪，進屋行竊，而死者失智的妻子，因為無法言語，只能看著里長拿走家中財物，不過里長喊冤，表示死者是他的姊夫，自己是在幫忙收拾家裡，懷疑是因為選舉，對手試圖抹黑。但死者家屬卻說只是表姊夫，警方已經介入偵辦。

[[指控遭竊家屬(變音)]]
“大體還在(家)裡面，還在等大體車來運送，他就進來行竊，我們以為是一般里長來關切，殊不知他一直叫我們家外傭去做其他事，要把她引開這樣子。

[[聲源:遭控行竊里長]]
“死者是我的姊夫，那我就打電話給他小孩子說，那舅舅先在這邊先處理一下，我就看到桌上很亂，我就隨手拿袋子我就把它整理一下。要告我的這個(人)，跟我(競選)對手是同學啦。”

-里長說是死者妻子他親姐姐

[[指控遭竊家屬(變音)]]
“其實是算"表"的那邊，也不是真正親的(姊姊)。(里長)有跟我哥哥下跪，請我們撤銷訴訟，他跟檢察官那邊講，是說他沒偷，他如果沒有偷就不用下跪。”

[[通霄分局白沙所長林孟寬]]
“掌握涉嫌人並查扣相關物證，全案業依竊盜罪嫌，移送臺灣苗栗地方檢察署偵辦。”

事發在這個月中，苗栗通霄鎮一處民宅內，家屬因為一直找不到死者生前常配戴的老花眼鏡，調監視器察看，意外發現這名里長的行為，清點後，有5、6樣東西失竊，價值1萬多元。不過被指控行竊的里長喊冤，說他沒有偷，自稱是選舉抹黑雙方說法不一，真相究竟如何，有待司法釐清。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

Green Island, Orchid Island battered by Typhoon Champi

Typhoon Champi is unleashing a powerful assault on Taiwan’s outlying islands, with towering waves smashing into homes, flooding businesses and tearing apart coastal roads. On Green Island, one grocery store alone suffered an estimated NT$700,000 in damage. Meanwhile, on Orchid Island, massive boulders and driftwood were swept onto roads and parts of a seawall were destroyed. Even without heavy rain, the sheer force of the sea has left residents facing a major cleanup.

- The wave smashed against the entrance. Oh god. It’s terrible.

A local representative woke up to a terrifying sight: rubble and bricks covering the ground at the entrance to the village. Tall and powerful waves battered the area, denting gates and vehicles. Green Island was among the first places to feel the impact of Champi, which devastated Wenquan village. The waves even broke windows and sent water flooding into homes.

- Oh my god. What a wreck.

The window at this store is gone. The shelves and refrigerators inside all lie in a pile as if it were a dump. Damage is estimated at NT$700,000.

Hsieh Hsien-yu
Green Island Township Head
We should consider raising the seawall. The coast is beautiful, but people’s lives and property are more important than sightseeing.

The front row of houses has become a disaster zone. Over on Orchid Island, the situation isn’t much better. Seawater completely flooded a stretch of Huandao Road near Jikarahem, filling the asphalt with rocks and driftwood. Part of the seawall has been destroyed.

At Iraraley, tall waves swallowed up the breakwater, endangering vehicles parked nearby. The force of the sea washed up rocks onto the road, disrupting traffic.

Voice of Hsieh Ming-chih
Head of Iraraley
It’s all chunks from the reef. Some of them weigh half a ton. Some of the bigger ones can’t be cleared easily, so we had to deploy excavators.

Repairs are underway in the sections of the road that were damaged. Though there was no heavy rain in either island, the strong winds and waves caused considerable damage.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#champi #typhoon #orchidisland #greenisland #waves

2026-10-23

Taitung is last to announce typhoon holiday in Taiwan

At first, Taitung was the only county in all of Taiwan proper that didn’t announce a typhoon holiday, leading to the County Commissioner April Yao’s Facebook being flooded with comments. It wasn’t until 6am this morning, that the Taitung County Government reversed their decision and announced emergency suspension of schools and workplaces. They claimed the typhoon’s path had changed and would last longer than anticipated.

-Didn’t you hear that today is a holiday?
You didn’t know? Haha

Like many students in Taitung, when this middle schooler heard this morning that schools were closed for the typhoon, he threw his arms in the air and danced. The news however comes as a late surprise.

- Is there a possibility to have a holiday?
- No, what are you guys thinking?

Taitung was the last county in all of the island of Taiwan to announce a typhoon holiday; the county government didn’t think that an abrupt announcement at 6am would catch the locals off guard.

Store owner
Taitung Market vendor
Our jobs require us to go out in the middle of the night; the winds are very strong at that hour making it nearly impossible to ride your motorcycle. The entire road is filled with dirt, flying everywhere. They aren’t prioritizing the safety of the locals, it’s not that I’m angry; I just think they are incompetent.

Member of public
Worries for long distance travelers
For those who have to travel far or those who already set out, and then hear it’s a holiday, it’s quite inconvenient.

Wang Chih-hui
Taitung County Deputy Commissioner
Until yesterday evening, the Central Weather Administration claimed that Taitung would see no rains. It wasn’t until 4 or 5am this morning that they updated their claims because the typhoon’s path was changing

Taitung County Government altered their decision due to the typhoon’s changing path, since the winds in the morning were not strong, and only a few trees had fallen over, they were not sure a holiday was warranted, which has sparked discussions.

Wang Chih-hui
Taitung County Deputy Commisioner
Yesterday evening, our decision was primarily that the wind speeds hitting Taitung were around 4 on the Beaufort scale, but this morning with updated information, it suggested the wind speeds in Taitung remained at or above 6 all day.

As Austin Wang, an associate professor in Political Science, writes for The New York Times, the likelihood a mayor announces a typhoon holiday increases by 31% during an election year. Typhoons holidays remain a hot topic and with just some 30 days until the election, it seems typhoon winds are stirring up politics as well.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#champi #typhoon #austinwang #politics #taiwan

2026-10-23

Mourning family accuses borough warden of stealing from deceased