Police announced yesterday that they had cracked two fraud rings, one in Taichung and the other in Kaohsiung, and arrested 11 suspects who had been working for fugitives in China.
A spokesman for Wufeng police station in Taichung County said it arrested Ho Cheng-tsang (
Ho told police officers that being a crook is not easy, and complained that he had been robbed and wounded in June after withdrawing NT$800,000 of other people's money from an automatic teller machine.
Ho also said that he had been swindled by other crooks, on one occasion receiving 29 fake NT$1,000 bills in payment for bogus bank account details, giving the lie to the old adage that there is honor among thieves.
Despite his bad luck, however, Ho's group successfully cheated people out of more than NT$20 million (NT$610, 350) before he was caught and charged with fraud.
In Kaohsiung, police apprehended Chen Chia-teh (
Police said one of the victims had been duped into paying the ring more than NT$1 million.
The suspects worked with other ring members in China, whose job was to make threatening phone calls to prospective Taiwanese victims while the Taiwanese members, so-called "errand boys and girls," were responsible for collecting and transmitting the illicit gains.
Police investigators said an "errand boy" would get 2.8 percent of the haul. For example, if he collected and remitted NT$20 million per month, he would enjoy a "monthly income" of more than NT$500,000, with the rest of the NT$20 million pocketed by the ringleaders in China.
Police reminded the public to dial 165 for the anti-fraud hot line if they received suspicious phone calls.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
RSS