Two police officers were detained yesterday in Kaohsiung on suspicion of receiving bribes from proprietors of gaming parlors in exchange for protecting their business interests.
In a coordinated effort, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office led investigators from judicial agencies in searches on Monday to gather evidence at several locations, including a police precinct, while rounding up a number of suspects.
Among those rounded up and questioned was a senior police inspector, surnamed Chen (陳), and a junior police officer, surnamed Lin (林), at Kaohsiung’s Fongshan District Precinct.
After questioning the suspects, a judge approved prosecutors’ request that the two police officers be detained, along with three proprietors of gaming parlors, to prevent collusion and destruction of evidence in the ongoing investigation into the case.
Prosecutor Wei Hao-jung (魏豪勇) said Chen and Lin were suspected of receiving regular bribes from gaming parlor proprietors, both inside and outside the jurisdiction of the Fongshan District Precinct, in exchange for news on where and when the vice squad would carry out inspections and raids.
The parlors offer entertainment such as poker games and slot machines, but many also operate illegal gambling activities, organizing illegal lotteries and betting pools.
“There is sufficient evidence to indicate both officers were involved and we have named both as defendants in this case. They will be charged with violations of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例),” Wei said.
He added that the investigation into Chen and Lin was a follow-up to a corruption probe launched last month, during which extensive searches were carried out on Oct. 20 at 14 gaming parlors in the Kaohsiung area, resulting in the questioning of 30 proprietors and a police detective, surnamed Chiang (蔣).
As a result of that operation, Chiang and four gaming parlor proprietors were later detained, while five other suspects were released on bail after questioning.
In that case, prosecutors said the evidence suggested that Chiang and other police officers received bribes of between NT$15,000 and NT$50,000 from gaming parlor proprietors each month.
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