A routine welfare check by police in Kaohsiung turned into an arrest — good news for law enforcement, bad news for a man who did not know he was wanted.

• Officers in the Nanzi district spotted a 62-year-old man lingering alone at a street corner late at night and stopped to ask if he needed help.
• An ID check showed he was wanted by prosecutors in Tainan on a theft charge issued a week earlier.
• The man had drifted from Tainan to Kaohsiung and was living on the street, unaware of the warrant.
• He was arrested on the spot and handed over to Tainan prosecutors.

Outlook: The case now moves through the Tainan prosecutors' office, while local police say they will keep up late-night patrols framed as both safety checks and crime prevention.