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.
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.
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.
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