Taichung prosecutors are investigating a case in which a well-known criminal is said to have been directing his gang from inside his prison cell, helping it to win several public construction contracts, with a legislator and prison officials allegedly involved in the scandal.
Prosecutors said that the suspect, Lu Chao-chin (盧照琴), nicknamed “Crazy Chin,” who once topped the list of the nation’s most-wanted criminals, has been serving a sentence in Tainan Prison since November.
Lu was found guilty for his part in the blackmail of veteran TV personality Peng Chia-chia (澎恰恰). Peng was the victim of a sex VCD blackmail scandal perpetrated by Lu.
VIOLENCE
Prosecutors said they were probing a criminal gang that had allegedly used intimidation and violence to win several local public construction and sand-digging bids when they found the ring’s leader Fu Lin-ssu (傅麟斯) often referred to “the boss” in his telephone conversations.
Prosecutors suspect the boss is a reference to Lu.
The gang has threatened a number of other companies to prevent them from taking part in public bids and used violence if they refused, prosecutors said.
Taichung District Court on Thursday ordered Fu as well as another two members of his gang detained.
Prosecutors suspect that Lu is controlling the gang’s operations from his prison cell, with a legislator and Tainan Prison officials also implicated.
Prosecutors discovered that Fu had visited Lu twice in prison, once in the company of a legislator.
During the visits the prison offered the men a room for them to talk without any monitor.
Prosecutors refused to reveal the name of the legislator.
RECORDINGS
They said that they had reviewed recordings of the conversations during the two visits, and although the men did not mention “business,” they said the recordings might have been stopped when discussions turned to sensitive matters.
Prosecutors said that they were in the process of trying to discover whether the legislator and prison officials were involved in the scandal.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS