Taiwanese law enforcement agencies working in concert with their US counterparts have busted an international prostitution ring, which allegedly had a female proprietor surnamed Tai (戴) heading up the operation to supply escorts, and several suspects were taken in for questioning by prosecutors yesterday.
Judicial officials said the prostitution ring allegedly contravened international laws against human trafficking, because an investigation revealed that some of the call girls flew to China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, the US and Australia to provide sexual services or as “business trip companions,” mostly for businessmen and other wealthy clientele.
Three women with alleged involvement were summoned for questioning at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Tuesday night, including the female proprietor, Tai Chun-yi (戴君儀), model agency manager Chung Yi-tzu (鍾宜姿) and Johanne Liou (劉喬安), whose good looks led the local media to dub her the “Sunflower Queen” during her participation in the Sunflower movement last year.
Photo: screen grab from FaceBook
After questioning, the three, who prosecutors suspected of violating the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法), were released yesterday morning with bail set at NT$500,000 (US$15,297), NT$250,000 and NT$50,000 respectively.
The prosecutors followed up by summoning a number of suspects and witnesses for questioning yesterday afternoon, who included a female model who starred as the lead and spokesperson in an advertising campaign for a computer game, and other models and starlets said to be working in the entertainment industry.
Because some of the women said they were not working of their own free will and had been threatened, the investigation has proceeded based on the suspicion that Tai, Liou and others were engaged in cross-border human trafficking.
Reports said US authorities informed Taiwan of the ring’s existence through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT).
In response to media queries, AIT official Joseph Bookbinder said he would not comment on individual cases, but he did say that Taiwan and the US work together to fight crime.
Officials at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said that after a tip-off by US agencies, they monitored Tai’s activities and financial transactions for the past six months, before concluding that Tai operated the ring in Taiwan, but with powerful backers and the real masterminds in China.
Officials said Tai provided Taiwanese starlets, models and showgirls as “business trip companions” for wealthy clientele from China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, and also for overseas Chinese living in US, Australia and other countries.
It is reported the sex workers sometimes spent between three days and a week abroad, with their clients paying between NT$500,000 and NT$2 million, and would also usually pay for business-class airfare tickets, five-star hotel billets, restaurant dining and other expenses for the escorts during their trips.
CIB officials said Tai would receive a 50 percent commission for each of the transactions, and estimated that she had made more than NT$100 million in the past year.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
TRANSPORT DISRUPTION: More than 100 ferry services were suspended due to rough seas and strong winds, and eight domestic flights were canceled, the ministry said Tropical Storm Wipha intensified slightly yesterday as it passed closest to Taiwan, dumping more than 200mm of rain in Hualien and Taitung counties, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 11am, Wipha was about 210km southwest of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and was moving west-northwest at 27km per hour (kph). The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 101kph and gusts reaching 126kph, with a 150km radius of strong winds, CWA data showed. Wipha’s outer rainbands began sweeping across Taiwan early yesterday, delivering steady rainfall in the east and scattered showers in other regions, forecasters said. More heavy rain was expected, especially in the eastern
RSS