Two former and one current Taipei police officers suspected of taking bribes in exchange for protection of gambling operations over the past three years were yesterday questioned and released on bail.
Working together with the Ministry of Justice’s Agency Against Corruption, prosecutors on Friday mounted raids that rounded up 20 suspects and witnesses, including the three police officers and four gambling den operators.
They were taken to the agency and then the prosecutors’ office for questioning. At a subsequent bail hearing, the man prosecutors think might be the leading figure in the case, Chen Ping-wen (陳品文), a former officer at a police station in the city’s Zhongshan District (中山), was released after posting bail of NT$1 million (US$30,210).
Another former police officer, surnamed Lin (林), was released without bail, while a police sergeant surnamed Jen (任), who is currently stationed at another Taipei police precinct, was released after yesterday posting NT$50,000 bail.
Investigators said that Chen, Lin and Jen consorted with gambling den operators and received monthly bribes of between NT$10,000 and NT$20,000 from 2012 to last year.
The three allegedly warned the gambling operations with tip-offs of planned police inspections, provided protection from crackdowns and provided other services to prevent the illegal operations from being shut down.
Four suspects — gambling den operators and their employees — were also questioned at the agency, along with 13 witnesses who provided testimony in the ongoing corruption probe, investigators said.
Judicial officials said they plan to file charges in the coming days against the suspects for gambling and the leaking of classified information, as well as violations of the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例).
People reportedly visited the gambling dens under investigation to place bets and play mahjong and dice games.
The case stemmed from another police corruption probe last year, in which a junior police captain surnamed Yen (嚴) and a fellow officer were charged with taking bribes from gambling operators in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華).
Surveillance and wiretaps from that case pointed investigators toward Chen and another officer at the Zhongshan District station, who they determined to be taking bribes to protect gambling operations.
The Taipei Police Department released a statement on Friday confirming the corruption probe of its officers, saying: “Our department will fully cooperate with prosecutors in their investigation, and we abide by the need to prosecute those who have broken the law.”
“If necessary, police officials will be punished for a lack of proper supervision and evaluation of their subordinates. We must maintain moral discipline in the police force and prevent such malfeasance from happening,” the statement added.
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