Police have arrested 16 people on suspicion that they colluded with foreign crime organizations to lure Taiwanese to Cambodia with false promises of high-paying jobs.
Taiwanese who have been rescued from confinement in Cambodia have reported being beaten or shocked, or physically abused in other ways by people running human trafficking operations at hotels and resorts in Sihanoukville, Cambodia.
One man surnamed Lin (林) reported that others had been sexually assaulted as well as accusations of organ harvesting.
Photo by Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
Separately, a family in Hualien County told a news conference earlier this week that their 24-year-old son who went to Cambodia for work two months ago last month sent a message saying that he was being held by human traffickers.
His family said that they believe he has been killed for his organs and demanded that the government rescue others who might face similar treatment.
New Taipei City police officials yesterday said that 16 suspects have been detained, reportedly from three human trafficking rings with links to gangs.
One of the operations is allegedly run by members of the Heavenly Way Alliance triad.
Separately, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said that it had detained six people as part of an investigation into another ring allegedly led by Lin Cheng-hao (李振豪), 34, a leader of a major chapter of the Bamboo Union.
Evidence shows that Lin Cheng-hao’s group lured 82 Taiwanese jobseekers in the past three months, getting them on flights to Cambodia, where they were confined in prison-like conditions to make calls as telecommunications scammers, the CIB said.
Records show that the group received about NT$50 million (US$1.67 million) in commission for sending Taiwanese into “cyberslavery” in Cambodia, CIB officials said.
Authorities at yesterday’s news conference said that police units across Taiwan have conducted sweeps targeting 20 criminal groups believed to be engaging in human trafficking, with 67 people detained in the past few weeks.
“There have been 420 cases reported of Taiwanese likely being held against their will in Cambodia, with 46 having returned to Taiwan,” National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) said. “There are 374 people who still cannot be contacted by their families and friends. We have launched efforts to rescue them.”
Work by airport police units to warn people about travel to Cambodia and cities elsewhere in Southeast Asia with placards and by speaking to people at departure gates dissuaded 28 people who had been planning to go abroad, he said.
Official data showed there are more than 4,600 Taiwanese in Cambodia, Huang said, although the majority are there on legitimate business or for personal reasons, he said, adding that local police stations have been asked to check household registration data for some people to confirm their whereabouts.
Huang said that reports have confirmed that organized crime syndicates in Taiwan are colluding with Chinese and Cambodian gangs.
Taiwanese law-enforcement agencies have contacted their foreign counterparts seeking assistance, including linking up with the FBI and police departments in Thailand, Huang said.
“Our police force and judicial agencies have made major efforts to communicate with local and foreign entities to rescue any Taiwanese affected by human trafficking in Cambodia, including cooperation with the private sector, Taiwanese business communities and religious organizations with a presence in Southeast Asia,” he said, adding that they are “exploring all possible channels to rescue them.”
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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