Taichung to help ID-less young man register household: Mayor

Taipei, June 16 (CNA) The Taichung City government will assist a young man without an ID in registering his household before taking further action, Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) said Monday.

The case of the 21-year-old man, who was recently discovered by a local ward chief at a junkyard in the city's Beitun District, is now being handled by the Taichung Social Affairs Bureau, Lu told reporters at the Taichung City Council.

The young man's father, surnamed Huang (黃), did not answer phone calls and was not home when bureau staff and local police tried to find him Monday to request documents regarding the young man's birth, Lu said.

At a cross-departmental meeting on Monday, the city determined that registering the young man's household would be the first step before considering follow-up measures -- such as arranging remedial education due to his lack of compulsory schooling or determining whether to fine his father.

The Social Affairs Bureau said it had placed the young man in a shelter to help him become more socially integrated, but he will need an ID card to receive any formal education going forward.

On Sunday, both the young man and his father were interviewed by the police.

Huang said the young man was born to a Southeast Asian mother who left a few years after his birth. He said he raised the child on his own but did not register a household for him due to his limited education.

He allowed the boy to move about freely but warned him to be cautious as he had not been vaccinated, Huang said, adding that he never confined his son to the house.

The young man said he preferred working and had not been abused by his father, and therefore would not file charges against him.

The case came to light after Beitun District ward chief Su Yi-qing (蘇乙青) shared the young man's story in a Facebook post on June 10.

Su said the young man displayed the behavior and communication skills of a 10-year-old despite being 21. He also noted that the young man spoke Chinese with a Southeast Asian accent.