Music festival fined over noise regulation breaches

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) Taipei's Department of Environmental Protection fined the organizer of the 2025 S2O Songkran Music Festival NT$45,000 (US$1,537) on Tuesday after receiving 55 noise complaints from residents related to the festival.

The festival took place at Dajia Riverside Park in Taipei on Saturday and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day, and the department received 17 complaints on Saturday and 38 complaints on Sunday.

Immediately after receiving the complaints, officials were sent to the festival, where they determined the noise levels to be in violation of the Noise Control Act, the department said in a statement.

A resident surnamed Hsieh (謝) told CNA that he could hear "a rhythmic, low frequency noise" that apparently came from loud music during the festival in his home near Dahu Park in neighboring Neihu District, nearly 10 kilometers away from the festival.

Some elderly people were also feeling unwell or had palpitations from the noise, he said.

In response to the incident, officials of the Taipei City Hydraulic Engineering Office said they will examine the complaints and try to make improvements.

Taipei City Councilor Ho Meng-hua (何孟樺), a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, said that if noise issues related to large musical events were not solved, it would be hard for such shows to "co-exist" with residents in densely populated Taipei.

She recommended that the city consult professionals on how to reduce unwanted effects such as reverberations, vibrations and echoes, and to consider stipulating rules to prevent similar incidents in the future.