Five people were detained in an operation targeting an organization that allegedly produced counterfeit Triple Stimulus Vouchers, police in Yunlin County said yesterday.
Raids at several locations in the county on Thursday uncovered a production center and warehouses after business owners had reported receiving fake vouchers in the past few weeks, police officials told a news conference.
Su Ching-wu (蘇慶梧), 70, is suspected to be the head of the counterfeit operation, police said, adding that he and a man surnamed Chang (張), who they suspect also had some control over the operation, were kept in custody, as the likelihood is high that they would flee, collude over testimony or tamper with evidence.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
Two other suspects were released without bail, and another suspect, a woman surnamed Chang (張), was released after posting bail of NT$50,000 (US$1,693), police said.
Officers seized color laser-jet printers and set-design molds, as well as engraving, stamping and precision paper trimming tools, they said.
Officers found 1,094 counterfeit vouchers with NT$500 face values, as well as 798 unfinished vouchers, with the total value of both sets being NT$2.5 million, they said.
Photo: Huang Shu-li, Taipei Times
They also found stacks of fake NT$100 bills, they said.
Yunlin Prosecutor Chu Chi-jen (朱啟仁) said that business owners in Huwei Township (虎尾) at the end of last month reported people making purchases with fake vouchers and alerted the police.
Su has a criminal record of counterfeiting and has been linked to about 20 cases over the past few decades, serving several prison terms, Chu said.
He finished his most recent jail term in 2018, Chu said.
Police officials said that Su’s latest operation has been shut down and only a few forged vouchers were used.
The government’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program aimed to revitalize the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with Taiwanese and foreign spouses of Taiwanese eligible to buy NT$3,000 of vouchers for NT$1,000.
Right-wing political scientist Laura Fernandez on Sunday won Costa Rica’s presidential election by a landslide, after promising to crack down on rising violence linked to the cocaine trade. Fernandez’s nearest rival, economist Alvaro Ramos, conceded defeat as results showed the ruling party far exceeding the threshold of 40 percent needed to avoid a runoff. With 94 percent of polling stations counted, the political heir of outgoing Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves had captured 48.3 percent of the vote compared with Ramos’ 33.4 percent, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said. As soon as the first results were announced, members of Fernandez’s Sovereign People’s Party
MORE RESPONSIBILITY: Draftees would be expected to fight alongside professional soldiers, likely requiring the transformation of some training brigades into combat units The armed forces are to start incorporating new conscripts into combined arms brigades this year to enhance combat readiness, the Executive Yuan’s latest policy report said. The new policy would affect Taiwanese men entering the military for their compulsory service, which was extended to one year under reforms by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2022. The conscripts would be trained to operate machine guns, uncrewed aerial vehicles, anti-tank guided missile launchers and Stinger air defense systems, the report said, adding that the basic training would be lengthened to eight weeks. After basic training, conscripts would be sorted into infantry battalions that would take
GROWING AMBITIONS: The scale and tempo of the operations show that the Strait has become the core theater for China to expand its security interests, the report said Chinese military aircraft incursions around Taiwan have surged nearly 15-fold over the past five years, according to a report released yesterday by the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Department of China Affairs. Sorties in the Taiwan Strait were previously irregular, totaling 380 in 2020, but have since evolved into routine operations, the report showed. “This demonstrates that the Taiwan Strait has become both the starting point and testing ground for Beijing’s expansionist ambitions,” it said. Driven by military expansionism, China is systematically pursuing actions aimed at altering the regional “status quo,” the department said, adding that Taiwan represents the most critical link in China’s
‘REALLY PROUD’: Nvidia would not be possible without Taiwan, Huang said, adding that TSMC would be increasing its capacity by 100 percent Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday praised and lightly cajoled his major Taiwanese suppliers to produce more to help power strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI), capping a visit to the country of his birth, where he has been mobbed by adoring fans at every step. Speaking at an impromptu press conference in the rain outside a Taipei restaurant, where he had hosted suppliers for a “trillion-dollar dinner,” named after the market capitalization of those firms attending, Huang said this would be another good year for business. “TSMC needs to work very hard this year because I need a lot
RSS