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Chinese muggers sever
Taiwanese man¡¦s hand
NOT MUCH HELP: The family of the Taiwanese
tourist said the SEF had been of little help in the case, adding that local
police wouldn¡¦t let them take the hand home
Staff Writer, with CNA
A doctor, left, checks Hu
Chi-yang¡¦s stitches at Linkou Changgeng Hospital in New Taipei City after
robbers cut off Hu¡¦s left hand in China.
Photo: Li Rong-ping, Taipei Times
The family of a Taiwanese tourist who was
injured by thieves in China yesterday accused the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF)
of reacting too slowly in response to the assault, in which his hand was cut off
by Chinese muggers who wanted his watch and ring.
Hu Chi-yang (J¨ä´) was assaulted on Friday during a family visit to Putian,
Fujian Province, where he was accosted by three robbers who repeatedly slashed
his left wrist with a knife to take his ring and watch.
¡§When I asked the foundation how I could reach my father in Putian, they told me
to ask the local airport when I get there,¡¨ Hu¡¦s daughter Hu Yi-ling (J©É¬Â) said
at a press conference in Tapei yesterday.
She said that although her father managed to return home safely on Tuesday
without any assistance from the foundation, his left hand remained in China,
where local police were keeping it as evidence.
The family wanted to bring the victim¡¦s severed hand back to Taiwan, but Chinese
police told them that they needed to keep it for evidence.
The foundation said it did its best in handling the case. It said it did not
send anyone to the scene of the crime because it handles a lot of cross-strait
disputes every day and had not been informed about the severity of the victim¡¦s
injuries.
¡§We have tried our best to ask for assistance from our counterpart, the
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits [ARATS],¡¨ foundation
spokesman Maa Shaw-chang (°¨²Ð³¹) said. ¡§We have limited abilities, as we do not
have a representative office in China.¡¨
¡§We sympathize with the victim,¡¨ he said.
Maa said the foundation would keep working with its Chinese counterpart to
apprehend the muggers and help the Hu family handle insurance issues.
After it discussed the case with ARATS officials yesterday afternoon, the
foundation said Chinese officials confirmed that Hu Chi-yang¡¦s hand was being
kept as evidence.
According to the foundation, ARATS officials said the police had told them that
they had obtained Hu Chi-yang¡¦s permission to keep his hand after he underwent
surgery on Friday.
Additional reporting by Su Yung-yao
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