In yet another case implying dubious ties between police officers and gangsters, Taichung City Councilor Cheng Kung-chin (鄭功進) yesterday alleged that an officer in the city’s Criminal Investigation Corps was involved in an illegal casino business and had accepted bribes.
Cheng, of the Democratic Progressive Party, backed up his claims by playing a video clip at a press conference yesterday allegedly showing Sergeant Liao Chia-hsing (廖嘉興) acting as the banker at an illegal casino and gambling with a group of people.
No date was indicated on the clip.
Cheng said he received a letter of complaint and a DVD containing the clip on Saturday. Cheng said a police friend helped him identify the man in the video as Liao.
According to Cheng, the anonymous letter alleged Liao had accepted bribes from illegal casinos, was involved in their business and never paid up when he gambled and lost.
“What’s worse is he would sometimes call his co-workers in to raid the casino whenever he was losing,” Cheng quoted the letter as saying.
Saying “Liao had been performing poorly for a long time,” Taichung City Police Department Chief Inspector Chen Wu-kang (陳武康) yesterday afternoon said inspectors would look into the case immediately.
Later yesterday evening, Taichung Police Chief Frank Chiu (邱豐光) said that inspectors had found Liao visited illegal casinos in April and May last year, and Liao had admitted it when confronted by the inspectors. Following a disciplinary committee meeting, Liao was given two major demerits and was stripped of his status as a police officer, Chiu said.
Saying the police department was working to improve police disciplinary and work ethics, Chiu called on the public to inform police if they came across any irregularities involving police officers.
The integrity of the city’s police has come under public scrutiny following the murder of an alleged gang leader in Taichung City last month. It was discovered that four police officers were at the scene playing mahjong when the crime occurred and did not intervene when the victim was gunned down.
Taichung police have been under fire over alleged close ties between police and local gangs.
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