A Taiwanese couple implicated in a NT$1 billion (US$32.5 million) financial fraud case have applied for refugee status with Canadian authorities, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) officials said yesterday.
Taipei prosecutors on Tuesday applied to have prominent cosmetic doctor Paul Huang (黃博健), 38, and his wife, Internet celebrity Su Chen Tuan (蘇陳端), 44, better known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), extradited from Canada.
The couple allegedly boarded a flight from Taiwan to San Francisco on Nov. 30 where they met with Huang’s aunt, father, Huang Li-hsiung (黃立雄), and his father’s wife, MOFA officials said.
The five allegedly headed to the Great Lakes region, then drove from Buffalo, New York, to Canada on Saturday last week, the officials said, adding that they tried to cross the border at Fort Erie in Canada.
Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers reportedly flagged them down, but Paul Huang presented a document saying that he had permanent residence status.
The officials said that CBSA officers then allowed them to cross the border, as all five also had tourist visas for Canada.
Paul Huang, Su and Huang Li-hsiung allegedly then claimed that they were being persecuted by Taiwanese authorities and filed an application for refugee status at the CBSA office in Fort Erie.
The couple have been accused of defrauding clients and friends of about NT$1 billion, some of whom had invested in Ab Initio Medicina, an upscale cosmetic surgery clinic in Taipei, and two other businesses operated by the couple.
Investigators said that the couple planned their escape after transferring the money into foreign bank accounts.
The officials said the passports of Paul Huang, Su and Huang Li-hsiung were invalidated on Thursday after prosecutors issued an international wanted bulletin for the couple.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
NO SHAME IN RETREAT: Hikers should consider turning back if the weather turns bad or if they do not have sufficient equipment, the Taroko park headquarters said Two people died of hypothermia over the weekend while hiking on Hsuehshan (雪山), prompting park authorities to remind hikers to bring proper equipment and consider their physical condition before setting out in the cold weather. Temperatures dropped over the weekend, bringing snow to high altitudes in Shei-pa National Park. One hiker, surnamed Lin (林), who on Friday was traveling with a group of six along the Hsuehshan west ridge trail, lost consciousness due to hypothermia and died, the Shei-pa National Park Headquarters said. On Saturday, another hiker, surnamed Tien (田), in a group of five on the southeast of the west
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