Taiwan police are searching for three Chinese tourists who disappeared while visiting the island, the third such incidence in a month, a newspaper said Thursday. The three Chinese women went missing Tuesday evening after they had left a hotel in Panchiao outside Taipei, telling hotel staff that they were going out to buy snacks, the China Times was quoted by DPA as saying. The three, aged 34 to 40, had taken their passports with them but left their luggage in their hotel rooms. Police suspect that the three are seeking either to remain in Taiwan or to go illegally to a foreign country. If they do not show up by Sunday, when their Chinese tour group returns to China, the Tourism Bureau will fine the travel agency hosting the tour group 600,00 Taiwan dollars (20,000 US dollars) for the Chinese women's disappearance. This is the third case in a month of Chinese group tourists disappearing in Taiwan. On June 25, three Chinese tourists vanished from a hotel near Taipei. On July 3, another member of a Chinese tour left the group unannounced but rejoined the group a few days later, the China Times said.
