Banciao district prosecutors yesterday denied media reports that the “Windshield Wipers” gang had set up a guest house in Kaohsiung for professional baseball players in exchange for throwing games.
Prosecutors said they have investigated reports that the gang had set up a guesthouse especially for its members to host parties for Chinese Professional Baseball League players.
“Our investigations show that the so-called guesthouse Tsai Cheng-yi (蔡政宜) [the alleged head of the Windshield Wipers gang] set up is in fact a shack made from sheet metal,” said Cheng Hsin-hung (鄭鑫宏), a spokesman for the Banciao District Prosecutors’ Office.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Although the shack is a gathering place for Tsai and his associates, it was not used to host events for the baseball players, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors are investigating claims that Tsai and his associates established a syndicate that placed bets on professional baseball games and recruited players to manipulate the outcome of games.
Banciao prosecutors yesterday questioned several alleged members of the gang, including Tsai and Yu Tse-bin (余則彬), both of whom are currently in detention. Yu is thought to hold key information that could help prosecutors further their game-fixing investigation.
Prosecutors yesterday also detained and questioned a man surnamed Chen (陳) suspected of being connected with the gang.
Since the investigation began, prosecutors have listed 12 members of the Brother Elephants as defendants on suspicion of game-fixing, including Elephants coach Shim Nakagomi, who was released on NT$80,000 bail on Tuesday.
This is the fifth time in 20 years that professional baseball players in Taiwan have been investigated for throwing games. The latest probe began last week after the Elephants lost 5-2 to the Uni-President Lions in the Taiwan Series championship.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
RSS