A manhunt ensued after Taipei City Councilor Huang Shan-shan (黃珊珊) yesterday called on city residents to beware of a racketeer who called on a resident, pretended to be a municipal official checking illegal roof-top buildings and extorted money.
For safety reasons and because an apartment block rooftop is deemed to belong to all the occupants of the building, rooftop construction is illegal.
The suspect, identified as Kung Wan-hsun (
"He not only pulled a trick on the victim but also tarnished the reputation of city government officials," Huang said.
Huang told reporters at a press conference held at the city council yesterday that it is important for the public to be able to recognize the man and be aware of the proper procedure for renovating illegal roof-top buildings.
According to Kao Chiu-hsia (高秋霞), a specialist in the inspection squad at the Office of Building Standards (建管處) under the city's Bureau of Public Works (工務局), the procedure to have an unauthorized building renovated is easy.
Applicants need to submit an application to the office for its approval before undertaking the renovation project, which is required to be completed within three months, she said.
All illegal rooftop buildings constructed after 1994 are to be demolished, but those built before 1994 are to be spared although they need the advance approval of the City Government for any renovation.
According to Keng Chi-wen (
"He knows that most victims don't mind paying a sum of money to keep him quiet after he claims to be a government official and threatens to report [the construction] to the authorities," Keng said.
One way to deal with confidence tricksters like Kung, Keng said, is to ask for the person's identification card or immediately call the police.
Although Kung is out on bail on another similar fraud charge, he allegedly reoffended on the morning of Nov. 16 when the victim hired a group of workers to renovate her illegally built construction on the rooftop of a six-floor apartment building.
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