Two men in southwestern Taiwan fell out over a half-dead cockroach, and got into a fight, which ended up in court.
Last September, Mr. Liang, a 65-year-old taxi driver in Chiayi City, found the cockroach in front of his apartment door. He thought it was the same one he had seen earlier in front of the door of his neighbor, Mr. Hsiung, and that he had moved it there on purpose. Liang knocked on Hsiung’s door to reason with him, but it turned into a fight. When the police arrived, the roach had escaped and was nowhere to be found, according to ET Today, a local news website.
Both families wanted to sue each other, but the prosecutor suggested they settle the case outside of court. Wu Shu-gen, a member of the reconciliation committee, thought the situation was unbelievable. “It’s a lot harder to handle than a car crash,” he told the media.
Wu sought help from the local borough chief Tsai Kun-Long, and they found out there was already a rift between the two families. Liang had heart problems and was often disturbed by the loud noise when Hsiung’s children slammed their front door.
After a few hours of negotiation, Hsiung promised his children would be more careful, and offered Liang a red envelope containing 2,000 Taiwanese dollars ($67). Liang only took the envelope and shook hands with Hsiung.
Wu said that the cockroach must have moved from Hsiung’s to Liang’s and caused the fight. Chief Tsai joked: “The cockroach ran away when the police came. Someone commented that the roach hit and ran.”
A blogger commenting about the story via ET Today said that the men were being childish.
Another said: “What would the cockroach think?”
A third remarked: “This is the most expensive cockroach in the world: NTD 2,000.”
Research by Hsin-Yi Lin.
