The Executive Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例), under which telecommunications fraud is defined as a type of organized crime, paving the way for those convicted of telecom fraud to receive heavier penalties.
At present, the law defines “criminal organization” as an enterprise involved in racketeering, and with an internal management system of three or more persons sharing a common purpose of committing criminal activities or inciting its members to commit criminal activities, and is collective, habitual, forcible or violent in nature.
The amended articles stipulate that companies owned by members of organized crime groups involved in criminal profiteering through threats, use of force, or other forms of coercion, will be subject to a maximum of five years’ imprisonment.
The Ministry of Justice said that the draft is aimed at curbing the rampant growth of fraud involving the use of telecom technology and communication networks, and is in line with the regulations set forth in the Criminal Code.
According to the code, people involved in aggravated fraud cases are subject to imprisonment of a minimum of one year and a maximum of seven years, and a fine of less than NT$1 million (US$31,963).
Under the draft amendments approved yesterday, people convicted of leading telecom fraud activities could face three to 10 years in prison and a fine of less than NT$100 million, while those convicted of participating in such fraud could face jail terms ranging from six months to 10 years and a fine of less than NT$10 million.
Those convicted of recruiting others to join organized crime groups could face prison terms ranging from six months to five years and a fine of less than NT$10 million, while those involved in recruitment by means of threats, use of force, or other forms of coercion, could be jailed from one to seven years.
Adults involved in the recruitment of people under the age of 18 would be subject to harsher penalties and a fine of less than NT$20 million, the draft states.
In related news, the government lodged a protest after the Armenian government deported 78 Taiwanese suspected of telecom fraud to China.
China’s state-run Xinhua news agency on Wednesday said that Armenian police had “deported 129 Chinese telecom fraud suspects, including 78 from Taiwan.”
The suspects were arrested when Armenian police raided six locations on Aug. 20, seizing a large amount of equipment, including computers and smartphones, Xinhua said.
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security sent a team to Armenia on Aug. 26, the report added.
The Mainland Affairs Council said it had expressed deep regret and a strong protest to Bejiing over the move.
The Armenia-based fraudsters “had been falsely presenting themselves as law enforcement officers to extort money from people on the Chinese mainland through telephone calls,” and had cheated people out of more than 7 million yuan (US$1.05 million), Xinhua said.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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