Penniless American gets help after wandering around Taiwan: Police

Taichung, March 12 (CNA) A man from the United States walked from Taoyuan to Taichung for six days without any money before finally asking for assistance from local police, who helped him contact the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), according to the police.

The man was traveling from Hong Kong back to the U.S. on Feb. 27, but missed his connecting flight at Taoyuan International Airport because he was late getting in, the police said.

Having almost no money, he could not afford to change his flight and was stuck in Taiwan. Though he sought help from institutions, he ran into difficulties because he was unfamiliar with the environment and the local language, the police said.

Lacking money and a mode of transportation, the man decided to walk to Taipei, but lost his way and ended up walking in the opposite direction all the way to Taichung's Dajia District, police there said.

During his six-day trek, the man survived on food from strangers and charity groups during the day and slept on the streets during the night, police said.

When he arrived in Dajia on March 4, he was too tired to go on and asked for help from a local police station.

The local police said that when they saw the exhausted man enter the station, they gave him some bottled water, instant noodles and snacks. After learning of his plight, they contacted the AIT and asked for the institution's help.

The police said the AIT agreed to provide a ticket for the man to travel to Taipei and handle subsequent matters after they confirmed the man's identity, but police officers provided a part of the fare to make the trip easier for him.

Asked to comment, the AIT told CNA that it cannot comment on individual cases "due to privacy laws."