By KHT Staff
KAOHSIUNG — A Kaohsiung scooter rider who illegally turned right on a red light was mistakenly fined NT$5,400 for “carrying dangerous goods,” after a police ticketing system error appeared to classify his wife as hazardous cargo.
The case went viral after the rider’s wife posted on Facebook that her husband had been carrying her as a passenger in Sanmin District (三民區) on May 4 when he made the illegal turn, according to TVBS.
The woman said she accepted that her husband had violated traffic rules, but was stunned when the ticket listed the violation as transporting dangerous goods and imposed the maximum NT$5,400 fine.
“Am I dangerous goods?” she wrote, joking that people might no longer dare to take their wives out. She said they had filed an appeal.
The ticket drew laughter online, with some users joking that the police had accidentally revealed the husband’s “inner thoughts,” while others called the wife a “nationally certified dangerous item.”
Police later said the scooter rider had turned right on red at the intersection of Mingcheng 1st Road (明誠一路) and Dayu Road (大裕路). The actual violation falls under Article 53, Paragraph 2 of the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act, which carries a fine of NT$600 to NT$1,800.
Police said the “carrying dangerous goods” description was caused by a system malfunction during ticket processing, which led to the wrong legal provision being entered.
After discovering the error, police asked the Transportation Bureau’s adjudication center to correct the ticket and send a revised notice to the vehicle owner.
