A Taiwanese man who had been at large since being convicted of abduction and extortion in 2002 has been brought back to Taiwan to serve his sentence after being arrested for illegal possession of weapons in Manila earlier this month.
Chen Chien-ning (陳建寧), 54, was escorted back to Taiwan by Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents on Wednesday and was turned over to the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office the following day.
The prosecutors took him to Chiayi Prison to serve out his sentence.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
The Chiayi District Court in April 2002 sentenced Chen to nine years in prison for kidnapping and extortion. Two accomplices in the case were given jail terms of 10 and 12 years, while a third suspect died on the run.
The rulings cannot be appealed.
On March 1, Philippine police, acting on a tip from Taiwan’s representative office in the country, apprehended Chen and three other Taiwanese suspects on charges of contravening immigration law, CIB International Criminal Affairs Division head Lee Yang-chi (李泱輯) said.
The arrests followed months of investigations, Lee said.
Philippine police were informed in December last year that Chen, alongside other fugitives from Taiwan, was engaged in unlawful gambling and money laundering in the country.
Philippine police seized five guns at Chen’s home and took the suspects to a detention center, Lee said.
On Monday last week, CIB officers and Philippine law enforcement agents searched the rented residences of several of Chen’s associates in the Manila area, seizing 85 guns and bullets, which were intended to be smuggled into Taiwan, Lee added.
The three other suspects remain in detention in the Philippines as investigations into their activities continue.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
RSS