A man suspected of being involved in selling forged COVID-19 vaccine certificates, or yellow cards, was arrested on Sunday by police in New Taipei City.
Police said they had received a tip-off that a person was allegedly selling fake COVID-19 vaccination certificates and stickers that can be affixed to National Health Insurance cards as proof of vaccination.
The man had allegedly placed an advertisement in the online marketplace Shopee.
Photo: Chang Tsung-chiu, Taipei Times
The advertisement claimed that buyers could simply fill out their name and identification number on the yellow cards themselves, and that with a matte protective cover, it would be difficult to distinguish the fake cards from the real ones.
The city’s criminal investigation division launched an investigation and found that the vaccination record specified on the certificate posted on the Web site was that of the seller. Based on that information, police targeted a 27-year-old man, surnamed Cheng (鄭), who lives in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District (板橋).
In collaboration with the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office, police arrested the man at his residence on Sunday night.
Police said that the unemployed Cheng floated the idea of reaping illegal gains by selling fake vaccine certificates after the government earlier this month tightened COVID-19 prevention regulations, requiring people considered to be at greater risk of contracting the virus to show proof of having had three vaccine shots.
The regulations also require people who visit recreational venues offering escort services and gym patrons to have received three vaccine doses.
The case has been referred to prosecutors, and Cheng is facing charges of forgery and fraud.
Meanwhile, police reminded people not to buy or use fake vaccination certificates, warning that they could face a fine of up to NT$15,000 for contravening the Communicable Disease Control Act (傳染病防治法).
Shopee in a statement yesterday said that the ad had been removed from its Web site and it had provided relevant data to the police.
It also promised to continue monitoring falsified products to help the government’s disease prevention efforts.
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off Yilan at 11:05pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter was located at sea, about 32.3km east of Yilan County Hall, at a depth of 72.8km, CWA data showed There were no immediate reports of damage. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Yilan County area on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. It measured 4 in other parts of eastern, northern and central Taiwan as well as Tainan, and 3 in Kaohsiung and Pingtung County, and 2 in Lienchiang and Penghu counties and 1
FOREIGN INTERFERENCE: Beijing would likely intensify public opinion warfare in next year’s local elections to prevent Lai from getting re-elected, the ‘Yomiuri Shimbun’ said Internal documents from a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company indicated that China has been using the technology to intervene in foreign elections, including propaganda targeting Taiwan’s local elections next year and presidential elections in 2028, a Japanese newspaper reported yesterday. The Institute of National Security of Vanderbilt University obtained nearly 400 pages of documents from GoLaxy, a company with ties to the Chinese government, and found evidence that it had apparently deployed sophisticated, AI-driven propaganda campaigns in Hong Kong and Taiwan to shape public opinion, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. GoLaxy provides insights, situation analysis and public opinion-shaping technology by conducting network surveillance
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
RSS