In what sounds like a scene from Oceans 11: Wild Style, a German and Czech man flew from Hong Kong to Taiwan to spray tags on two Taichung Mass Rapid Transit [TMRT] trains last week. They then changed outfits numerous times and got out of there by flying to Japan.

Taiwan is not like New York or other major metropolitan areas, so when someone tags a train, it’s national news. At 9 p.m. on August 24, the two graffiti writers used hydraulic cutters to get through a barbed wire fence and enter the TMRT station of Xinwuri. For the next 15 minutes, the men tagged two trains with the words HASH and STEB.

The trespassers/graffiti artists slid out and no one saw them. Taiwan has a network of cameras everywhere so for the past week, the Taichung police have been reviewing hundreds of hours of video footage and determined that the two men changed outfits six times, including once where they were dressed like women.

The Taichung District Prosecutor's Office issued warrants for the two foreign nationals who could be fined up to US$30,000. Authorities are also looking into separate incidents in Taipei and Kaohsiung at train stations, which are thought to be the work of the same crew.