Sun, Mar 02, 2003 page17

• Watch your wallet!

  Incidents of purse-snatching are on the rise in Taiwan. That they seem to be, in part, organized by a crime ring with international connections is cause for greater concern

  • By Derek Lee / STAFF REPORTER
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  Did you know pickpockets in Taiwan nowadays are so well-organized that they don't have to worry about serving doing time after being busted by the police? Local TV station SETN (三立電視台) reported recently that purse-snatchers usually have someone working behind the scenes to take care of their legal affairs, and they enjoy the benefit of a lawyer to deal with the court on their behalf in case of arrest. Even when convicted, pickpockets are provided with living expenses while they serve time.

  According to the same TV report, the man behind the scenes is most likely the pickpockets' mentor, the man who trained them and sent them out to the street to ply their trade. His disciples are obliged to give their mentor a certain percentage of their daily take in much the same way as businessmen buy insurance in preparation for a rainy day. And, in accordance with their training, they tend to keep to preassigned routes at familiar locations that attract large crowds, such as popular temples, markets and the entrances of MRT stations

  Crowds gathered to watch stars perform on open-air stages on the bustling streets of Hsimenting (西門町) on weekends are easy prey for pickpockets. Teenagers too absorbed in watching their idols perform to notice anything else are especially targeted for their fancy mobile phones and pocket money.

  

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  Foreign affairs

  A report from the Taipei Municipal Police Department (台北市政府警察局) last year described a rather unusual incident on Tihua Street (迪化街), a favorite shopping destination for dried goods and herbal medicine in Taipei. Two Vietnamese sisters, Tran Thi Kim Anh and Tran Thi Kim Dung, both in their thirties, were arrested after they attempted to steal money from shoppers. After the arrest, police discovered 11 mobile phones in one of their bags.

  Much more shocking to the police was the fact that a notebook, which contained the names and addresses of major Taipei department stores and night markets in both Vietnamese and Chinese, was also discovered in one of their bags. Although the Tran Thi sisters refused to disclose the name of their local contact, officers realized that this was their first solid evidence of a new kind of international pickpocket ring that involved the joint efforts of foreign thieves and local organizers.

  

  Crowded venues such as storesare the favored haunts of pickpockets.

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  As officer Frank Chiu (邱豐光) commanding officer of the Taipei Municipal Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps explained to the Taipei Times: "This up-to-date trend involving international criminal networking has the department worried. We are now closely monitoring local organized crime groups that may be trying to recruit new faces from abroad that can escape police surveillance."

  A few months latter, another Vietnamese woman named Vu Thi Chun was arrested after she used a sharp knife to cut open a Filipino nurse's handbag at Shihlin night market (士林夜市), one of the city's favorite nighttime attractions. Vu had visited Taiwan four times in past two years, disguising herself as a well-to-do tourist wearing expensive clothes and jewelry, before she was caught and deported soon afterwards.

  Wen Shyu-fu (文學富), a criminal investigation officer, was quick to acknowledge that Vu's technique with a blade required more than a little training. The skill is associated with a rather secretive school which has its origins in China. People who learn the trade belong to a chosen few and tend to be rather gifted. "As far as I know, there is at least one person in Taipei who is known to enjoy the status of a school master in this trade," Wen said.

  

  Trade exhibitions are the favored haunts of pickpockets.

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  Vu, according to Wen, was obviously a rookie and was not well-prepared to notice the presence of police officers in disguise.

  Officer Tong Ming-hui (童明輝) revealed how he catches would-be pickpockets: "We have to bring several changes of clothes, wigs, sunglasses and hats with us to the field each time. We can change outfits as fast as stars on stage."

  Still, Vu was smart enough to send all of her cash and jewelry back to Vietnam from Taipei as soon as she was detained at the police station. Apparently, someone else had come to her aid. On the day of her deportation, she even asked the accompanying police officers for taxi money, which she claimed she needed in order to return home safely from the airport in Vietnam.

  

  MRT stations are the favored haunts of pickpockets.

  PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES

  Another rare case involved a 65-year-old hardened criminal named Yang Mei-chu (楊美珠). Local police have taken Yang, who is Taiwanese, into custody more than 20 times on suspicion of theft and other criminal offences in the past. She was apprehended again in January after snatching a Malaysian tourist's wallet on Tihua Street during the Lunar New Year period. Stolen goods such as passports, ID cards, drivers' licenses, ATM cards, credit cards and foreign currency such as US dollars, Singapore dollars, Nicaragua cordobas and Malaysian dollars were all found among her belongings.

  Targeting temples

  In fact, any site with that attracts large crowds also attracts pickpockets. A master at Hsingtien Temple (行天宮), one of the most popular Taoist temples in the heart of Taipei city, said the presence of pickpockets worried her. They turn up at the temple more often than before, she said, running rampant on days when the temple hosts religious rituals and is full of people.

  

  Worshipers paying tribute to the gods at Hsingtien Temple in Taipei are often easy prey for pickpockets.

  PHOTO: DEREK LEE, TAIPEI TIMES

  Purse-snatchers also temples, such as Lungshan Temple (龍山寺) in Taipei City and Tsushih Temple (祖師廟) in Sanhsia (三峽), Taipei County, that are more popular as tourist destinations. A volunteer in charge of public security at Lungshan Temple said he had become familiar with the faces of pickpockets who made the temple part of their daily rounds. In the past, they tended to snatch visitors' belongings when worshipers were preoccupied with paying tribute to the gods. In recent years, however, they just hang around the temple for approximately 10 to 15 minutes. When they leave, only the temple gods know what could have happened.

  Officers Wen, Tong and others believe that most of the pickpockets in Taipei operate alone. In contrast, purse-snatchers from outside of Taipei tend to work in teams of three to four, each one assigned a different role in operations which often involve elaborate ruses used to distract potential victims.

  In one such ruse, one team member shouts loudly at a crying child in a large store such as Carrefour or RT-Mart to attract the attention of a crowd with wallets full of cash.

  

  Worshipers paying tribute to the gods at Hsingtien Temple in Taipei are often easy prey for pickpockets.

  PHOTO: DEREK LEE, TAIPEI TIMES

  Similarly, if you try to get on a bus and are blocked by a person who all of a sudden cuts into line in front of you to speak to the bus driver, don't get upset just yet. Your first move should be to reach for your wallet and hold on to it. Otherwise, it may end up in someone else's hands seconds and be gone without a trace.
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