The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office ordered a man with dual citizenship to pay a NT$120,000 fine for dodging the draft for 16 years as part of a deferred prosecution deal.
The man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), 35, was last month arrested at an airport when trying to enter Taiwan with a US passport instead his Republic of China passport to evade detection.
Tsai was born to Taiwanese parents in the US, the office said, adding that the government served a draft notice to his family’s home in 2002.
Tsai did not report to the National Conscription Office and continued to visit Taiwan a few times each year on his US passport, prosecutors said.
Tsai’s parents told the conscription office that he had gone missing, after which he was listed as a draft dodger, they said.
Prosecutors and police were able to match the identities Tsai was using after reviewing credit card transactions connected to his parents’ US account, legal documents and airport surveillance camera footage, they said.
Tsai during questioning admitted to the charges and said he has been living in the US and working as a university lecturer, because there is no prospect of employment in Taiwan for someone with an art degree, it said.
Had Tsai come legally, he would have qualified for alternative civilian service, it said.
Prosecutors agreed to drop charges after one year on condition that Tsai pay the fine, although they rejected his request to return to the US on the grounds that he is a flight risk, it said.
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