Prosecutors investigating illegal pachinko dens in Tainan said they feared for their safety after receiving an anonymous threatening letter.
Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office spokeswoman Lee Ching-wen (李靜文) said that Tainan prosecutors were investigating at least 11 illegal gambling dens. She also alleged that police officers were taking bribes from pachinko operators.
Pachinko is a Japanese gaming device resembling an upright pinball machine.
Last week, Lee said she received a letter from an anonymous pachinko operator saying he would give Lee 1,000 steel balls (for a pachinko game) as a birthday gift.
The letter added that Lee was expected to visit his den to play pachinko.
Lee said the steel balls could mean bullets and felt that she and other prosecutors were being threatened by the pachinko operator.
She said that while Tainan prosecutors had already clamped down on illegal pachinko dens, the same operators had opened new ones and were back in business.
The operators likely had a grudge against the prosecutors for repeatedly cracking down on their shops, she said.
Using pachinko for gambling is illegal in Taiwan. Pachinko operators usually try to avoid prosecution by leading their customers to hidden locations to change money, Lee said.
If investigators do not witness money exchange, the operators cannot be charged, she said.
The prosecutors said pachinko operators often have links to criminal organizations and rely on corrupt police officers to stay in business.
Lee said that despite the threats, prosecutors would continue investigating and cracking down on the illegal dens.
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