Alleged Heavenly Way Alliance senior member Wang Hsin (王鑫), who is suspected of being involved in several killings, was on Thursday detained during raids on the gang and released on NT$2 million (US$71,515) bail yesterday.
Wang, 67, and five alleged associates would be charged with breaching the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪防制條例) and related offenses, Criminal Investigation Bureau officials said.
Bureau files showed that Wang was in the 1970s allegedly involved in the US-based Wah Ching gang and later allegedly cofounded the Heavenly Way Alliance’s US chapter.
Photo: CNA
At the time, Wang allegedly dealt firearms and other weapons used in violent crimes, the officials said.
He and other key figures of the US chapter returned to Taiwan in the 1990s or 2000s, where they allegedly continued their criminal activities, the officials said.
He is suspected of having paid contract killers for the assassinations of senior members of rival gangs, they said, citing other alleged gang members who described Wang as a “godfather” figure.
Despite the suspicion, law enforcement agencies for many years had no solid evidence of his involvement, they said.
On Friday, police raided a mansion in a mountainous area of New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店), where they detained Wang and his girlfriend, surnamed Lin (林), the officials said, adding that other alleged associates were detained in related raids in Taipei and New Taipei City, including a person surnamed Lee (李), who is allegedly Wang’s driver.
Six people were taken to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning and released on bail yesterday, the officials said, adding that the six are banned from leaving the country.
The charges would be related to the 2013 shooting of businessman Lee Shi-jen (李世仁) in central Taipei, last year’s shooting of Internet fitness celebrity Holger Chen (陳之漢) and two killings of alleged gang members, the officials said.
Wang is also suspected to be involved in the 1996 killing of alleged Four Seas Gang leader Chen Yung-ho (陳永和), in which another alleged gang member, Lin Lei-chia (藺磊洽), was also killed, they said.
Wang is suspected of having ordered the 1996 killings in revenge for the killing of Chin Shih-wei (覃世維), the alleged boss of another gang, following a dispute over a property deal worth more than NT$1 billion.
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
The Supreme Court today rejected an appeal filed by former Air Force officer Shih Chun-cheng (史濬程), convicted of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) espionage, finalizing his sentence at two years and two months for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法). His other ruling, a ten-month sentence for an additional contravention, was meanwhile overturned and sent to the Taichung branch of the High Court for retrial, the Supreme Court said today. Prosecutors have been notified as Shih is considered a flight risk. Shih was recruited by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) intelligence officials after his retirement in 2008 and appointed as a supervisor
RSS