Kaohsiung drug suspect who rammed police car captured in Tainan

Taipei, Nov. 9 (CNA) A 35-year-old man suspected of illegal drug use who rammed a police cruiser in central Kaohsiung and fled early Sunday was taken into custody hours later in Tainan, authorities said.

The Kaohsiung City Police Department's Sinsing Precinct said officers on patrol noticed a vehicle illegally parked on the corner of Mingxing Street and Nantai Road at 3:25 a.m., with two men inside acting suspiciously.

Officers who approached the car found that it was full of a strong-smelling smoke, and succeeded in getting one of the occupants -- a 17-year-old male in the passenger seat -- to step out for questioning, the department said.

The car's driver, a 35-year-old man surnamed Huang (黃), initially pretended to comply with the officers' instructions, before starting the car's ignition and attempting to flee, police said.

As Huang fled, he reversed his vehicle into the front right side of a police car and knocked an officer to the ground. Officers fired six shots at the back tires of Huang's vehicle but were unable to stop him from escaping.

The officer who was injured in the incident later received stitches for a cut on his left forearm, the department said.

Kaohsiung police said they continued tracking Huang's vehicle using technological means, while also notifying Tainan City police as he fled in that direction.

At 11:35 a.m., officers ambushed and arrested Huang at a hideout in Tainan's Yongkang District, seizing an undisclosed quantity of ketamine, police said.

Kaohsiung police said Huang would be given a drug test to determine whether he had been driving under the influence.

Following questioning, he will be turned over to prosecutors on suspicion of offenses against public safety and other crimes, the department said.