FIGHTING PROFITEERING: The Ministry of Justice said that prosecutors’ offices and judicial agencies would work with police to inspect stores and warehouses for hoarding
Taipei Times
Date: Feb 01, 2020
By: Jason Pan / Staff reporter
A number of people have been summoned for questioning as the judiciary cracks down on online
rumors regarding the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak.People must fact-check and verify with local health authorities when discussing information on the outbreak, Criminal Investigation Bureau officer Chen Pei-te (陳培德) said yesterday, adding that circulating misinformation is punishable by fines of up to NT$3 million (US$99,174).
A Yunlin County woman surnamed Shih (施) was summoned for questioning for claiming on Facebook that the hospital to which she took her baby for a vaccine had a confirmed 2019-nCoV patient, Chen said.
“Shih was asked by a friend, whom she told that the patient with the ‘Wuhan virus’ was at Chiayi Christian Hospital. This was not true, resulting in an investigation by Yunlin prosecutors,” Chen said.
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