Police cracked down on two underground gambling rings in separate raids in New Taipei City and Taichung, where proprietors allegedly took in large wagers on the outcome of the presidential election, arresting the suspects.
Wang Cheng-lung (王承龍), an alleged proprietor of an illegal gambling syndicate, was apprehended along with two employees in a raid on Wednesday, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday.
Wang, 39, has been operating a gambling Web site called King Sports Net, which launched in May last year, and had reportedly raked in more than NT$100 million (US$2.96 million) from wagers on sports matches, office spokesperson Feng Cheng (馮成) said.
“Investigators found that Wang had created betting pools on the presidential election’s outcome, including bids on the final vote tally and the total difference between the presidential candidates. We discovered in his computer that one person had put down a NT$300,000 bid,” Feng said.
Raids were carried out in several locations in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重), he said, adding that a number of computers, servers and account books were seized, while Wang’s bank accounts were frozen by investigators after the raid.
Wang admitted taking wagers on the election’s outcome, Feng said, adding that prosecutors said he would be charged on gambling offenses and violating provisions of election law.
Feng’s office said that it was the third online gambling operation brought down in the past few days, as two other enterprises allegedly taking wagers on the presidential election were rounded up earlier this week. The suspects communicated via Web sites and mobile phone applications, it said.
Meanwhile, public prosecutors in Taichung said they have shut down another online gambling operation, apprehending the proprietor, surnamed Chou (周).
Chou, 47, was taking wagers on the presidential election’s outcome, prosecutors said yesterday.
The organization accepted bids on the outcome of the race between Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) candidate Eric Chu (朱立倫) and Democratic Progressive Party candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) by giving them the code names “A-Tao,” as Chu was the former commissioner of Taoyuan County, and “A-Wen” respectively.
It was alleged that Chou, who previously owned a golf equipment retail business, had run the online site to take bets on sports matches, racing events and other games.
Prosecutors said they found evidence and records in Chou’s computers and servers showing that had made a profit of about NT$30 million from October last year to last month, while the total money he had accepted in wagers in the past year reached NT$600 million.
In another election-related investigation, a KMT official in Chiayi County has admitted to three instances of vote-buying, after being summoned for questioning and detained incommunicado since Monday last week by prosecutors.
Shueishang Township (水上) Council Chairman Wu Pei-yu (吳培裕) admitted that he distributed money in exchange of votes, officials at the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said, adding that he was among nine suspects held over an investigation into election-related violations.
Wu admitted to distributing NT$120,000 to a local vote-broker, surnamed Lin (林), NT$500,000 to a former village warden, surnamed Wu (吳), and NT$50,000 to a village warden, surnamed Hsieh (謝), during the election campaign, officials said.
However the former council chairman denied he was buying votes for the KMT’s legislative candidate, saying that he was acting on his own accord, and that he financed the vote-buying from his personal sources.
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
ANOTHER OPTION: The 13-year-old, whose residency status was revoked for holding a Chinese passport, could still apply for residency on humanitarian grounds, the government said The Executive Yuan has rejected an appeal from a 13-year-old Chinese student surnamed Lu (陸), whose permanent residency was revoked after immigration officers discovered he held a Chinese passport. Lu in December 2023 applied to settle in Taiwan to be with his mother, surnamed Lin (林), who is a Taiwan resident, an appeal decision released this month by the Executive Yuan showed. Lin settled in Taiwan after marrying a Taiwanese man in 2003, but the two divorced in 2011, and after marrying a Chinese man, she had Lu, the Executive Yuan’s appeals committee said. Lu’s application was approved in December 2024, and in
RSS