Banciao district prosecutors yesterday questioned three professional baseball players from the La New Bears team amid reports that more team members may have been involved in a game-fixing scandal that could threaten the professional league’s future.
Prosecutors questioned La New Bears players Hsu Wen-hsiung (許文雄), Huang Hsiao-wei (黃小偉) and Chiang Chih-tsung (蔣智聰), all of whom have been listed as defendants in an ongoing game-fixing investigation.
Prosecutors remained tight-lipped on the details of the questioning, saying only that they suspect many members of the team complied with gang members to throw games.
Prosecutors also suspect baseball coaches of involvement in game-fixing.
MORE QUESTIONS
Prosecutors plan to question more members of the Bears team as the probe continues and may question witnesses and defendants this weekend to complete a full round of questioning players this week.
Since last month, prosecutors have been investigating claims that Tsai Cheng-yi (蔡政宜), the alleged head of the “Windshield Wipers” gang, and his associates established a syndicate that placed bets on professional baseball games and recruited players to manipulate the outcome of the games.
Initial investigations showed that Tsai and his associates may have bribed Bears players and Brother Elephants players alike with large sums of cash, parties with female escorts and the services of prostitutes, prosecutors said.
FIFTH TIME
Since the investigation began, prosecutors have listed 12 members of the Brother Elephants as defendants on suspicion of game-fixing, including Elephants coach Shim Nakagomi, who was released on NT$80,000 bail on Nov. 3.
This is the fifth time in 20 years that professional baseball players in Taiwan have been investigated for throwing games. The latest probe began last month after the Elephants lost 5-2 to the Uni-President Lions in the Taiwan Series championship.
Meanwhile, the La New Bears announced today that pitcher Tsai Ying-feng (蔡英峰) and baseman Tsai Tsong-you (蔡宗佑) had been sacked over their alleged involvement in the game-fixing scandal.
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The New Taipei City Government today warned about the often-overlooked dangers of playing in water, and recommended safe swimming destinations to cool off from the summer heat. The following locations in the city as safe and fun for those looking to enjoy the water: Chienshuiwan (淺水灣), Baishawan (白沙灣), Jhongjiao Bay (中角灣), Fulong Beach Resort (福隆海水浴場) and Sansia District’s (三峽) Dabao River (大豹溪), New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department Director-General Yang Tsung-min (楊宗珉) said. Outdoor bodies of water have variables outside of human control, such as changing currents, differing elevations and environmental hazards, all of which can lead to accidents, Yang said. Sudden
Tropical Storm Podul has formed over waters north-northeast of Guam and is expected to approach the seas southeast of Taiwan next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The 11th Pacific storm of the year developed at 2am over waters about 2,660km east of Oluanpi (歐鑾鼻), Pingtung County — Taiwan's southernmost tip. It is projected to move westward and could have its most significant impact on Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday next week, the CWA said. The agency did not rule out the possibility of issuing a sea warning at that time. According to the CWA's latest update, Podul is drifting west-northwest
RSS