All the soldiers involved in a scheme by a club operator who told them they could receive training to become club hosts or male prostitutes for a small “down payment” will be disciplined, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
Kaohsiung police said late last month they had busted a fraud ring that deceived more than 1,000 men by claiming it would train them to become well-paid club hosts or male prostitutes for a training fee.
During the investigation, Kaohsiung police discovered that about 60 of the victims were members of the military and informed the ministry of the matter.
Ministry spokesman Major General Yu Sy-tue (虞思祖) said an internal investigation revealed that more than 40 soldiers were cheated out of money, while 20 had provided their personal information to the fraud ring, but did not make any payments.
The men involved in the scandal were mostly volunteer soldiers, Yu said, adding that the highest--ranking was a captain.
The personnel were army, combined logistics commands and marine officers, Yu said.
Military personnel will now be taught how to avoid scams when looking for a job, he said.
The fraud ring in question was Paris Entertainment Co, which allegedly told interviewees they could earn a minimum of NT$70,000 per month as club hosts.
After paying a NT$200,000 fee, the men received a short period of training before being informed they did not qualify and that the money was non-refundable.
Police said some individuals paid more money to be allowed to continue training and a few — including soldiers — lost as much as NT$600,000 in total.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS