The Taoyuan District Court yesterday approved the detention of the controversial organization Taiwan Civil Government’s (台灣民政府) founder Roger Lin (林志昇) and placed him under restricted communication.
Prosecutors said they had applied for Lin’s detention to prevent him fleeing, colluding on his testimony or destroying evidence.
Taoyuan authorities on Thursday detained key figures of the group for questioning, after conducting raids at its headquarters and six other locations to investigate allegations of misrepresentation and fraud following complaints filed by former members.
Prosecutors yesterday said they estimated that the group had made more than NT$300 million (US$10.08 million) in illegal profits.
They also discovered illegal firearms and about NT$130 million in cash when they searched Lin’s residence, prosecutors said.
Taoyuan Deputy Chief Prosecutor Wang Yi-wen (王以文) said he intends to file charges against Lin, 67, and his wife, Lin Chih-an (林梓安), 51, of fraud, money laundering and related offenses, as well as confiscate their personal assets.
Prosecutors investigating the case described the Taiwan Civil Government as a “financial scam based on political ideology,” in which Roger Lin and group officials sold memberships and dubious investment schemes, including deceiving people about acquiring US residency status.
In Thursday’s raids, Wang said they also uncovered large quantities of jewelry, along with seven bank accounts with deposits of NT$6 million and US$520,000, and five real-estate properties, all registered under Lin Chih-an’s name.
Roger Lin did not have any property or bank account under his name, but prosecutors said he was facing NT$200 million in tax evasion charges.
Taoyuan prosecutors initiated the judicial probe after receiving complaints from 110 former group members, and conducted several months of surveillance to gather evidence prior to the raids on Thursday.
About 60 cartons of documents and related evidence were gathered in a search of the group’s headquarters in Taoyuan’s Gueishan District (龜山).
Lin and his wife and five other group officials were arrested, and nine witnesses were summoned for questioning.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS