A Journey to See His Love Ends in Deportation for Missing Vietnamese Worker

His journey to Taichung to meet someone he loved took an abrupt turn when a police check sent him running. A 20-year-old Vietnamese migrant worker who had been out of contact for nearly six months ended up facing deportation.

Officers from Taichung’s Third Precinct, including trainee officer Tsai Tsung-mou, were conducting a check shortly after 6 p.m. when the man suddenly fled. Police split up to search for him as he accelerated through the area and climbed over a wall in an attempt to escape through the difficult terrain.

Tsai and officer Chen Wei-chu entered a dead-end lane, but the area appeared empty. As they prepared to search elsewhere, Tsai noticed something unusual. The man had curled himself beside a motorcycle, using a narrow space to hide.

When he realized police had found him, he tried to run again. The officers had already blocked the exit, and Chen used pepper spray to stop him. With nowhere left to go, the man held out his hands and surrendered.

Police said he had recently traveled north from southern Taiwan to Taichung to meet his sweetheart. His romantic trip had barely begun before it ended with his transfer to the immigration authorities’ specialized operations team and a scheduled return to Vietnam. Asked how he had spotted the hiding man, Tsai said: “Because I was being very careful. I was afraid he might suddenly rush out!”

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Because I was being very careful. I was afraid he might suddenly rush out!