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Taiwan warns travelers to Colombia after robbery
Central News Agency
2013-12-26 01:14 PM
Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Taiwanese nationals planning to visit Colombia should be particularly careful, an official said Thursday, citing a recent case in which a Taiwanese businessman was stabbed and robbed in the South American country.
The ministry has maintained a yellow travel alert for Columbia, said Florencia Hsie, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Department of Latin American and Caribbean Affairs.
"We suggest that our nationals planning to visit Colombia to be alert," Hsie said. Hsie made the remarks while citing a recent case in which two Taiwanese businessmen were robbed and one of them was stabbed in the city of Bogota.
In November, the Taiwanese nationals traveled to the city on business, during which they were robbed twice in a single day, according to the ministry. While driving a rented car, they were robbed when they stopped for a traffic light, the ministry said.
Later, they decided to return the car to the car rental and walk back to their hotel, which was not far from the rental company, it added. On their way back to the hotel, however, they faced another robbery in which one of them was stabbed in the back, the ministry said.
After that, they called Taiwan's representative office in Colombia for help, it added. Officials at the representative office made sure they got to a hospital, the ministry said, adding that they did not suffer major injuries and flied back to Taiwan the following day.
The case drew attention because it happened in a neighborhood of the city that is considered relatively safe, the ministry said.
Under the Foreign Ministry's four-color travel alert system, red represents the highest level of warning and signals that travelers should avoid the affected area. Orange means travelers should take precautions and avoid unnecessary travel, with yellow one step below, followed by gray.
(By Elaine Hou)
