Police investigating influencer for cash giveaway event

A social media influencer is being investigated by Taipei police for holding a cash giveaway event in Xinyi District (信義) on Friday evening, causing a crowd to surge and push each other and almost cause a stampede, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday.

Social media influencer “Mr R,” a man surnamed Lin (林), announced on Friday through his Instagram account, where he has more than 160,000 followers, that he would be giving away NT$1,000 bills in Xinyi Shopping District at 11pm that day.

“Mr R” also posted “please be careful tonight, don’t bring children, pregnant women, or elderly grandma or grandpas here and don’t push as it is dangerous with many people,” but from videos and photos of the event, a large crowd swarmed the influencer, screaming with outstretched hands to try to grab the money that he shot out from a cash cannon.

The Taipei City Police Department’s Xinyi Precinct yesterday said it received a report at about 11pm on Friday about a crowd gathering near Breeze Nan Shan (微風南山) department store so police officers were immediately deployed to the site.

The precinct said that because there was a risk of stampede, the police officers ordered the event to be stopped and dispersed the crowd. The precinct also said it had collected evidence at the site and asked Lin to report to the precinct for questioning regarding suspected offenses against public safety and public nuisance.

It also said fake NT$1,000 bills had been picked up by members of the public at the event, which the precinct would also investigate.

Lin arrived at Sanzhangli Police Station yesterday morning to answer questions from the police, and told reporters that he was sorry for causing trouble to the public, had no bad intentions in holding the cash giveaway event and had not expected that so many people would attend.

However, he said he would continue to give out money, but in a better way next time, adding that he only gave out real cash on Friday.

Chiang yesterday said the police department reported the case to him, and if an event causes any disturbance to traffic or public safety, the city government would ask the police department to deal with it according to the law.

Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City Councilor Hung Chien-yi (洪健益) said the influencer had tossed out money to get views on social media, but it might have caused a stampede or other safety problems, and could spark other influencers to organize a similar event.

“Am I the only one who thinks its dangerous?” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Yu Shu-hui (游淑慧) said on her Facebook page yesterday, adding that she asked the precinct if the event was legal, safe, or if its organizer had applied to hold the rally in advance, and that she urged people not to risk their personal safety for such little money and another person’s social media views.

The Xinyi Precinct said it has filed the case with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for further investigation.