Taiwan police arrest man for throwing money on expressway

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-04-13 15:25

TAIPEI -- Taiwan police on Sunday arrested a 43-year-old man for throwing 1,000 New Taiwan dollar (US$30) banknotes from a taxi on an expressway Tuesday and in downtown Taichung City Sunday.

The man, called Chen Ping-teng, admitted during police questioning that he may have thrown over one million New Taiwan dollars worth of banknotes on the road. Chen said the money was made by selling his housing properties and that he was "possessed by five ghosts."

Chen's mother said he was mentally unstable because of drug addictions.

Police found Chen also burned 1,000 New Taiwan dollar bills in a hotel room on Saturday. He still had 920,000 New Taiwan dollars left when he was caught.

Procurators in Taiwan said Sunday that Chen may have committed crimes likely to cause public danger as some drivers on the expressway pulled over or rode at full speed to pick up the money.

The case is under further investigation.