MOFA in talks with Abu Dhabi police over alleged arrest of Taiwanese man

Taipei, Nov. 26 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday said it has established contact with police in Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, in the hope of clarifying a case concerning the alleged arrest of a Taiwanese national at the city's airport earlier this week.

In a statement to CNA, MOFA said its office in Dubai in charge of Abu Dhabi affairs received a call for help from a Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) on Monday.

Yang told the office staffer that her husband, surnamed Chen (陳), was allegedly arrested by five armed police officers when they were making a transit stop at Abu Dhabi International Airport on Sunday, en route to Turkey.

Yang said she did not have the chance to ask why her husband was taken away. She later boarded a flight to Istanbul and joined other members of a tour group she and her husband were participating in, according to MOFA.

After receiving the request, the Dubai office immediately contacted Abu Dhabi police to try to learn about the alleged arrest, MOFA said in its statement.

Early Wednesday, Abu Dhabi police had briefed the office on the incident, without providing further details on whether Chen was indeed arrested by Abu Dhabi police or why he was arrested, MOFA said.

MOFA said it was still in talks with local police to learn more about the incident and will offer assistance to Chen's family to deal with the aftermath.