A Yunlin prosecutor yesterday said he would indict 16 professional baseball players, bookies and gangsters for their involvement in a multi-million dollar baseball game-fixing scandal.
The head of the prosecutor's office said later yesterday, however, that more time was needed to review the case.
Yunlin prosecutor Hsu Wei-yu (徐維嶽) said that he had finished his investigation and prepared charges against 16 defendants that includes five Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) players, nine gangsters involved in bookmaking, one team coach and one team translator on charges of blackmail, fraud and breach of trust.
However, the head of the prosecutors' office Ho Ming-chen (
Ho denied there was any disagreement between himself and Hsu over the case. He said that game-fixing investigations had in the past been difficult to prove in court because it is extremely hard to judge whether a player has been playing badly on purpose. Because of this he needed more time to review the evidence to see if it was sufficient to indict.
Hsu later said he had no comment on Ho's statement.
Hsu said the two key men in the scandal, Macoto Cobras second-division coach Tsai Sheng-fong (蔡生豐) and La New Bears catcher Chen Chao-ying (陳昭穎), were released on Sunday after spending a month in detention after plea-bargaining with prosecutors.
Hsu said the two confessed their involvement in game-fixing and offered more evidence and named more players who allegedly were also involved.
As a result prosecutors have recommended a lighter sentence for the two informants.
Hsu said according to Tsai and Chen's statements, prosecutors would launch a second round of investigations.
Hsu said Lee Chuan-lin (
Hsu also said that Lee had made threats to members of each of the six teams in the CPBL, demanding their cooperation as well as arranging for players to wine and dine in private clubs.
Hsu said pitchers, such as La New Bears starter Tai Long-shui (
Hsu added Chen Chao-ying confessed that he accepted a bribe of up to NT$600,000 on July 14 to instruct the pitcher pairing with him to pitch poorly.
The investigation is a huge blow for the CPBL, which suffered a similar scandal in 1998. Gangsters and gamblers had infiltrated the sport, and the China Times Eagles was disbanded after players were convicted of gambling offenses.
The following year, 18 players, one manager and two bookmakers were convicted and jailed in the case.
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
EASING ANXIETY: The new guide includes a section encouraging people to discuss the threat of war with their children and teach them how to recognize disinformation The Ministry of National Defense’s All-Out Defense Mobilization Agency yesterday released its updated civil defense handbook, which defines the types of potential military aggression by an “enemy state” and self-protection tips in such scenarios. The agency has released three editions of the handbook since 2022, covering information from the preparation of go-bags to survival tips during natural disasters and war. Compared with the previous edition, released in 2023, the latest version has a clearer focus on wartime scenarios. It includes a section outlining six types of potential military threats Taiwan could face, including destruction of critical infrastructure and most undersea cables, resulting in
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km