Taoyuan Man Charged With Theft for Taking Late Father's Sold Boats Out of Nostalgia

(CNA, reporter Wu Jui-chi, Taoyuan, 7th) A man surnamed Wang from Daxi District, Taoyuan City, allegedly unable to bear that the boats left by his deceased father were sold off by his brother, took a sampan and a yacht to Jiangmu Island last August. The boat owner tracked them down and reported it to the police. The Daxi Precinct notified Wang for questioning before filing the case, and the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office has indicted him on charges of theft.

Xu Yuan-hong, chief of the Baiji Police Station of the Daxi Precinct, Taoyuan City Police Department, told the media today that police received a report on August 27, 2025, stating that a sampan and a yacht parked at Shimen Reservoir had been driven away without authorization. According to the police investigation, the suspect, Mr. Wang (53), allegedly moved the vessels to the Jiangmu Island pier because he couldn't bear that the boats used by his late father were sold by his family. After notifying Mr. Wang to come in for questioning, the police transferred the case to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office on suspicion of theft.

According to the investigation by prosecutors and police, the sampan and the passenger yacht "Zhongxing," stolen by Wang, were at least 20 years old and had been tools for his father's livelihood. However, after his father's death, Wang's older brother took charge of both boats and sold them to different owners. Suspectedly out of nostalgia for his deceased father and unable to let go of his attachment to his father's belongings, Wang took the sampan and the yacht, worth over a million NT dollars, back to a floating pier on Jiangmu Island near his residence.

Prosecutors and police said the current owner of the sampan discovered the boat was missing and searched the Shimen Reservoir area for over three hours, finally finding the sampan and the adjacent yacht at the Jiangmu Island floating pier. He immediately reported it to the Daxi Precinct. The police then tracked down and arrested the man surnamed Wang, and the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office indicted him for theft. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 20260607