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‘Windshield Wipers’ guesthouse turns out to be shack

Chen Tung-hsing, right, an alleged bookmaker and suspected member of the “Windshield Wipers” crime syndicate in southern Taiwan, is taken into custody by an agent from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau in Taipei yesterday. PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES

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.

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.
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