New Taipei: A Filipina tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei's Pingxi District on Monday may be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said Tuesday. The New Taipei Fire Department reported receiving a call at 4:37 p.m. Monday about an accident in Shifen, a popular tourist destination on the Pingxi Railway Line in the mountains east of Taipei.
According to Focus Taiwan, after arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3-to-5-centimeter laceration on her head, and later took her to a hospital in Keelung City. Surveillance footage from a shop on Shifen Old Street showed that the woman had given her phone to a friend to take a photo of her. She stepped onto the tracks to be photographed with an approaching train in the frame and was struck when she spread her arms to pose. The Railway Police Bureau stated that the woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries to the head, chest, and pelvis, but remained conscious and responsive after the accident.
However, the tourist may face a fine under Article 57 of the Railway Act for trespassing on the tracks, as stated by the police bureau. The law suggests that if a fine is issued, it would likely range from NT$10,000 (US$305.24) to NT$50,000.