Sun, Dec 22, 2002 page2

• Wan Chung `just an ordinary guy'

  ILLEGAL BANKING The man police think may have kidnapped a leading lawyer has made himself rich by playing on the black market, and he's not ashamed of it

  • By Jimmy Chuang / STAFF REPORTER
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  Police now suspect that Wan Chung (萬眾), the operator of an illegal "private bank," was behind the alleged kidnapping of a renowned commercial lawyer earlier this month, highlighting the role these organizations play in Taiwan and the life of a man who has made a fortune from them.

  "Private banks," despite the sometimes huge amounts of money they deal with, operate outside the law. They are not registered with the Ministry of Finance, as most financial organizations are required to do, and provide high-interest loans to those who have been refused credit at a normal bank.

  

  Illegal bank operator Wan Chung, right, was arrested at a hotel on Friday evening after holding a press conference to clarify his role in an abduction case. Wan claims he is just trying to make money with money.

  TAIPEI TIMES FILE PHOTO

  Because of their extra-legal nature, these "private banks" frequently hire gangsters to reclaim defaulted loans.

  Wan, who has made millions from operating a "private bank," freely admits the illegal nature of his work and says he is "just an ordinary guy" trying to make money.

  But now he has become embroiled in the alleged kidnapping of lawyer Tu Jin-shu (涂錦樹) over an outstanding debt.

  The Kaohsiung City Police Department yesterday released more details of the case and suggested Wan was the No. 1 suspect.

  At 3pm on Dec. 10, according to Wu Shiu-yang (吳修養), head of the Kaohsiung City Police Department's Criminal Investigation Corps, staff at Tu's law firm called the police to report that Tu had been kidnapped the day before.

  The staff told the police that Wan's secretary, Chiang Neng-yu (江能宇), arrived at Tu's Taipei office and asked him to meet Wan to "discuss business" at former KMT lawmaker Wang Shih-hsiung's (王世雄) Kaohsiung residence.

  It was at Wang's home that Tu alleged he was tortured by Wan and Chiang, after which Tu signed over 25 percent of the shares in his law firm and wrote a check to Wan for NT$50 million. The abduction, according to Tu, lasted 12 hours.

  However, when the Taipei Times called on Thursday, the day the news first became public, an employee of Tu's said, "Tu has not been kidnapped and he has not been to Kaohsiung recently."

  After learning that they had become suspects, Wan, Chiang and Wang held a press conference at Taipei's Sherwood Hotel on Friday afternoon to try to clear their names.

  The trio said that Tu went to Wang's home on the day in question to discuss business and NT$50 million that Tu owed Wan. But they denied kidnapping Tu or forcing him to sign over the shares in his law firm and the check.

  "We argued and I slapped him in the face during the meeting. For that, I apologized," Wan said at the press conference. "But I did not kidnap him because he came to meet me of his own free will. That was a malicious charge against me. Actually, I am the victim of the false allegation because he still owes me NT$50 million."

  Wan and Chiang were arrested at the hotel after the press conference and taken back to Kaohsiung early on Friday evening.

  Wu said yesterday that police were interviewing the pair and that they wanted to detain them longer.

  "Wang was listed as a witness in the case," Wu said. "Wan and Chiang still deny all the allegations against them."

  Kaohsiung Chief Prosecutor Lin Ching-tsung (林慶宗) filed a request to the court to detain Wan and Chiang at around 6pm yesterday. As of press time last night, the court had not decided whether to approve the request.

  Tu could not be reached, but police said that he was in good health and under 24-hour protection.

  Wan, a 37-year-old Panchiao native, is regarded as the "Godfather of Taiwan's underground banking business."

  Although he did not finish junior high school, according to the police, his assets are estimated at more than NT$1 billion.

  Unlike most other people who run "private banks," Wan has no criminal record. The only blemish: being caught by the police when he was 17 for driving without a license. According to Wan, he has never been to court.

  Wan said he began his illegal business after he finishing military service in the marines when he was 23.

  Although his line of work is illegal, Wan feels there is nothing wrong with it.

  "I'm making money with money just like most people do," he said. "However, my way of investing in different business opportunities is still illegal in Taiwan. I'm just an ordinary guy who is interested in making money. That's all."

  However, according to the police, Wan's company was actually invested by several Hong Kong businessmen, and Wan is now suspected of being involved with gangs in Hong Kong and China.

  Wan has also had some unusual benefactors from the huge wealth he has amassed.

  When Taipei prosecutors were trying to detain China Development Financial Holding Corp Chairman Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) for further questioning over the Zanadau Development Corporation scandal, police say Wan was preparing bail for Liu by withdrawing NT$10 million from his bank account.

  Wan also donated US$2 million to the Chinese Economics Re-search Center of Beijing University in May 2000. The university used the money to complete work last year on a building that it named after Wan.

  But Wan says his family is his main concern now that he has become the leading suspect in a kidnapping.

  "As you can see, I have enough money myself and there is no need for me to kidnap a lawyer," he said on Friday before his arrest.

  "At this moment, I am only worrying about my daughter, who just graduated from elementary school with honors this summer," he added.

  "Since I was described as a kidnapper in newspapers and on television, even though I did not do anything, I really cannot imagine how it will hurt my daughter," he said.
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