New Taipei police officers reprimanded for YouBike bullet casings box

New Taipei, March 26 (CNA) New Taipei Police officers received reprimands for leaving a box of bullet casings inside the basket of a YouBike, according to the New Taipei City Police Department on Monday.

The incident was first brought to the attention of authorities on March 20 when a member of the public, surnamed Shih (石), found a box from Czech ammunition company Sellier & Bellot sitting inside the basket of a YouBike parked near Linkou Police Precinct, a spokesperson for the city's Zhonghe Precinct said.

In a text message to local media to explain the matter, Zhonghe Precinct said the box contained 1,200 empty handgun bullet casings.

The bullets were used on March 20 by precinct officers at a firing range in the city's Linkou District during a routine training exercise, the precinct said.

After the drill was completed at around 4 p.m. the same day, equipment and depleted casings were collected and accounted for by supervisors who oversaw the exercise and their assistants, alongside police officers who were designated to transport them back to Zhonghe Precinct, it added.

However, a box was left inside the basket of a YouBike, the precinct said, calling it an instance of gross negligence, not to mention the transportation officers also failed to account for the casings after the equipment was returned to Zhonghe.

Those responsible for the casings have been issued with reprimands, the precinct said.

It will also initiate stricter officer training and education to ensure that in the future equipment and emptied casings are all checked, rechecked and returned after exercises, the precinct said.