Former national basketball team player Chien Chia-hung (簡嘉宏) was among 18 people taken into custody on Friday when police raided an alleged illegal gambling den at a residential building in New Taipei City’s Yonghe District (永和).
Chien was among 15 alleged gamblers apprehended during the raid, along with the three alleged proprietors of the establishment, which was running Texas hold’em poker and mahjong games in which people allegedly placed bets with money and poker chips.
Yonghe District Police Precinct officials said they confiscated poker chips valued at NT$8 million (US$238,799), bank drafts and checks valued at NT$2 million and NT$700,000 in cash.
Chien was playing poker, had exchanged NT$90,000 cash for poker chips and had lost about NT$50,000, police quoted him as saying.
Chien, 28, retired last year after playing for 10 years in the Super Basketball League.
He played center and was a key member of the powerhouse Pure Youth Construction team, which won the league championship title for four consecutive years between 2012 and last year.
He was a member of the Chinese Taipei national squad from 2010 to 2012.
A female croupier surnamed Liu (劉), 25, who was among those arrested, has received a lot of media attention, as she was allegedly hired by the proprietors to attract male clients to the establishment.
Police said Liu, along with the proprietor and a female accountant, are expected to be charged with gambling and related offenses.
The 15 gamblers violated the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), were fined NT$3,000 and then released, officials said.
Pure Youth team manager Chang Cheng-chung (張承中) said he was surprised to hear about Chien’s alleged involvement in illegal gambling.
“If players who have contracts with Pure Youth are found gambling we would cancel their contract. We would also sue for damages to the team,” Chang said yesterday.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
PROCEDURE: Although there is already a cross-strait agreement in place for the extradition of criminals, ample notice is meant to be given to the other side first Ten Taiwanese who were involved in fraud-related crimes in China were extradited back to Taiwan via Kinmen County on Wednesday, four of whom are convicted fraudsters in Taiwan. The 10 people arrived via a ferry operating between Xiamen and Kinmen, also known as the “small three links.” The Kinmen County Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said that four of the 10 extradited people were convicted in Taiwan for committing fraud and contravening the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法), and were on the wanted list. They were immediately arrested upon arrival and sent to Kinmen Prison to serve their sentences following brief questioning, the office said.
‘REGRETTABLE’: Travelers reported that Seoul’s online arrival card system lists Taiwan as ‘China (Taiwan),’ the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday urged South Korea to correct the way Taiwan is listed in its newly launched e-Arrival card system, saying the current designation downgrades the nation’s status. South Korea rolled out the online system on Feb. 24 to gradually replace paper arrival cards, which it plans to phase out by next year. Travelers must complete the electronic form up to 72 hours before entering the country. The ministry said it has received multiple complaints from Taiwanese travelers saying that the system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in dropdown menus for both “place of departure” and “next
VIGILANT: Enterovirus activity remains in the epidemic phase, with the CDC urging caregivers of infected children to be on the lookout for signs of severe illness Influenza activity is rising in neighboring countries, and, with temperatures forecast to drop this week, flu cases are expected to increase in the next two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Hospitals reported 87,162 visits for flu-like illnesses between Nov. 23 and Saturday, which remained about the same level as the previous week, but nine deaths and 24 cases with serious flu complications were also confirmed last week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. Flu activity reached a peak in late September before declining for eight consecutive weeks, CDC Deputy Director-General and spokesman Lin Min-cheng (林明誠)
RSS