Taipei prosecutors yesterday released Alexander Group (亞力山大集團) chairwoman Candy Tang (唐雅君) and her younger sister, Tang Hsin-ru (唐心如), on NT$2 million (US$61,000) bail each after they were detained on suspicion that the health club defrauded its customers.
Facing financial difficulties, the parent company of the nation's leading fitness centers, Alexander Health Clubs (亞力山大健康休閒俱樂部), on Monday shut down all 20 of its branches without prior notice to its 20,000 members or the company's 2,000 employees.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Candy Tang's actions constitute fraud under criminal law, Taipei District Prosecutors Office spokesman Lin Ching-tsun (
Lin said that if Alexander Group realized it had financial difficulties and would soon suspend operations, but was still advertising for new members, it may have violated fraud laws.
Lin told reporters yesterday that prosecutors had summoned chairman of computer maker Inventec Corp (英業達) Yeh Kuo-yi (葉國一), chairman of direct selling firm Kelti International Co (克緹國際), Chen Wu-kang (陳武剛) and other businessmen yesterday as witnesses and questioned them on loans they had granted to Candy Tang.
Yeh told prosecutors that he gave Candy Tang a loan of NT$600 million but she had not returned the money because of financial difficulties.
Lin said prosecutors are investigating whether Tang requested loans from the businessmen to cover her financial difficulties, and whether Tang used the funds to manage the health club or transferred them to China to expand her health club there, which may be a breach of criminal law.
The Consumer Protection Commission has applied to freeze the sisters' accounts to facilitate customer requests for compensation, Lin said. Prosecutors were looking at the accounts and could freeze them if necessary, she said.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
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A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
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