Taiwan police find Singaporean woman place to stay during cold night

台灣警方提供新加坡女子留宿度過寒冷的夜晚

Stranded tourist planned to sleep in makeshift tent


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A New Taipei City police officer recently brought a stranded Singaporean woman back to his police station and offered her a sofa to sleep on to avoid the elements, CNA reported on Sunday (April 5).

While on patrol the night of March 31, Officer Guo Jun-hong (郭俊鴻) spotted a woman standing at the door of a convenient store in Yehliu, the report said. Guo felt something was not right and went to question her.

The woman, surnamed Yu (余), told the officer that she came from Singapore and entered Taiwan on March 11. She was scheduled to go back to Singapore on March 30, but the flight was cancelled, forcing her to prolong her stay in Taiwan. On March 31, she traveled from Keelung to the Yehliu Geopark for sightseeing.

Yu explained that she had to cut back on expenses to preserve her remaining money. She told the officer that she planned to stay overnight under a makeshift canvas tent near a parking lot. However, as the weather turned poor, the officer was worried that the foreign tourist might suffer from hypothermia if she slept there.

Therefore, with her consent, Guo took Yu back to the station.

After checking the her temperature, the officer provided her with hot water, instant noodles, toast, and disposable heat pads to warm up. Then he arranged for her to sleep on a sofa in the station for the night.

The next morning, Yehliu Police Station chief Zeng Zhong-qi (曾鐘錡) fed Yu for a second time. Before leaving the station, she happily posed for photos with the officers.