The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday launched an investigation into allegations that an assistant manager at sports lottery operator Taiwan Sport Lottery Corporation(TSL) (運彩科技股份有限公司) abused his power to win NT$2.3 million (US$77,800).
The Chinese-language Apple Daily newpaper quoted a former TSL employee going by the name of “Lawrence” as saying that Yun Tsai Technology assistant manager Lin Hao-chin (林昊縉), who is in charge of starting and closing bets, as well as distributing lottery winnings, allegedly restarted betting for “Da San Yuan” (大三元) and “Da Si Xi” (大四喜) after it was supposed to have closed in July and last month.
“Da San Yuan,” which applies to baseball games, requires the buyer of the lottery to place bets on the final score of the home and visiting teams prior to games finishing on three separate games, with the first prize going to those who correctly guessed all three outcomes, and the second prize going to those who had had two outcomes correct.
“Da Si Xi,” which applies to soccer matches, requires buyers to guess the final scores of four soccer matches, including time added at the end of the game when injured players are taken off, but not including extensions or penalty kicks.
Because the bets went in after the results of the matches were known, Lin and his alleged accomplices all won the first prize, the Apple Daily quoted Lawrence as saying. He said Lin won the first prize for Da San Yuan three times and Da Si Xi four times using this method.
The issue came to light after a customer complaint to Yun Tsai Technology, Lawrence said, adding that the customer intended to buy the 118th lottery issuance on Aug. 20, but at the time Lin had restarted the system for the 117th issuance so the customer got a 117th issuance instead. The customer complained to TSL’s customer service, which led to Lin being investigated, Lawrence said.
TSL is a subsidiary of Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控).
In the wake of the alleged abuse of power, Taipei Fubon Bank fired Lin, but did not file charges, and Yun Tsai Technology said that it was a “human error,” according to the Apple Daily report.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that Lin could be charged with violation of trust and fraud if Lawrence’s allegations, as reported by media, proved true.
Further investigation would be necessary to discover the organizational structure of Lin’s alleged accomplices and their numbers, the Prosecutors’ Office said, adding that Taipei Fubon Bank would also be investigated.
Prosecutors will question Lin and other Fubon executives in connection with the matter, the Prosecutor’s Office said.
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