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Taiwanese man wanted for theft votes himself into police custody
- Suspect, who said he had no idea he had been on a wanted list for four years, detained at polling station in Kaohsiung
- Elsewhere, terminally ill man who won hearts online with his vow to live long enough to witness election result succumbs to blood cancer on Saturday morning
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Mandy Zuoin Shanghai
A Taiwanese man who had unwittingly been on a police wanted list for four years was detained at a polling station in Kaohsiung on Saturday morning after casting his vote in the island’s elections.
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The 46-year-old, identified only as Gong, was apprehended at a polling station at Juguang Elementary School in the city’s Nanzih district, United Daily News reported.
Police said he was wanted in connection with an unspecified theft, but Gong said he was oblivious to his notoriety.
The authorities had discovered he was working in Nanzih and officers pounced when he went to vote, the report said.
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People went to the polls across Taiwan on Saturday, as Tsai Ing-wen from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party sought re-election as president in a race against primary opponent Han Kuo-yu, from the Beijing-friendly Kuomintang, and James Soong Chu-yu, from the People First Party.
The election comes at a time of rising tensions between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, with Tsai urging voters to exercise their democratic rights and play their part in maintaining the island’s sovereignty.
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