TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taipei City Government yesterday announced that beginning this April, it would become an offense for anyone to prevent a woman from breastfeeding in public.

This is the first time that the country has enacted a law that would provide a friendlier and more supportive environment to nursing mothers, protecting their right to breastfeed in public, officials said.

Violators will be subject to fines anywhere between NT$5,000(S$218.50) and NT$20,000(S$874).

Women will be able to openly nurse their babies in various public areas including parks, streets, retail shops, buses or bus and train stations, according to the passed statute.

Public places that are already equipped with designated breastfeeding rooms will also not be permitted to ask mothers to stop breastfeeding in public, and proprietors could be asked to pay a penalty.