Authorities have slapped additional criminal charges on an important Taiwanese gangster in detention since July, court officials said yesterday.
Chen Chi-li (陳啟禮), the former leader of the Bamboo Union gang, was charged Tuesday with falsifying nationality documents and violating a car registration law, they said.
Chen allegedly had acquired a Cambodian diplomatic passport and traveled regularly in a vehicle with false diplomatic license plates.
He was arrested July 8 at his luxurious Phnom Penh residence and shortly after charged with illegally possessing weapons and involvement with organized crime. He faces between three and 15 years in prison on those charges.
Chen is one of Taiwan's most wanted criminals, Taiwanese police officials have said.
Chen was arrested after showing off his weapons cache to a Taiwanese television crew, who broadcast an interview with him.
Chen served six years in jail after being convicted of masterminding the 1984 murder of Chinese-American author Henry Liu (劉宜良), an opponent of the Taiwan government, in California.
Phnom Penh Court Investigating Judge Nop Sophon questioned Chen yesterday about the new allegations.
"We questioned him this morning because he faces additional charges about the diplomatic passport and license plates," Nop Sophon said, declining to give the suspect's response.
Court prosecutor Ngeth Sarath said important questions remain about the two new charges, which he said carried a penalty of between three and five years in jail.
"He's not a Cambodian, so how did he obtain one of our passports?" The prosecutor asked. "Where did he get it from? And who provided it to him?"
Under Cambodian law, Chen must be tried or released six months after his arrest, which would be Jan. 8. Both court officials said no court date had been set.
The judge maintained his court has not been intentionally delaying a trial but emphasized the case is complicated because it involves several government ministries.
Government insiders have said for months that prominent politicians had cooperated with the Taiwanese suspect, allowing him to operate in Cambodia.
Chen is a former adviser to Chea Sim, the president of Cambodia's ruling Cambodian People's Party and also the Senate chairman.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
‘TAIWAN-FRIENDLY’: The last time the Web site fact sheet removed the lines on the US not supporting Taiwanese independence was during the Biden administration in 2022 The US Department of State has removed a statement on its Web site that it does not support Taiwanese independence, among changes that the Taiwanese government praised yesterday as supporting Taiwan. The Taiwan-US relations fact sheet, produced by the department’s Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, previously stated that the US opposes “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side; we do not support Taiwan independence; and we expect cross-strait differences to be resolved by peaceful means.” In the updated version published on Thursday, the line stating that the US does not support Taiwanese independence had been removed. The updated
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from