A Criminal Investigation Bureau crackdown on falsified license plates last week resulted in the arrest of a suspected middleman and 14 buyers, while 12 vehicles found with falsified plates were confiscated.
The use of falsified plates in Taiwan, has jumped to 450 from January to last month, up from 281 for the whole of last year and 172 for 2022, bureau data showed.
The bureau said that it has forwarded all cases to the Hsinchu County District Prosecutors’ Office, which would be leading a joint task force investigating the increase in falsified plates.
Photo courtesy of the police
Investigations began on Monday last week, and the general areas in which falsified plates originated and the residences of drivers using falsified plates were located, the bureau said.
The crackdown was launched simultaneously across New Taipei City, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Kaohsiung, and Changhua and Chiayi counties, it said.
Twelve falsified car license plates, six falsified motorcycle plates and the 12 vehicles using the falsified plates were confiscated, and police also detained a 36 year-old suspect surnamed Kuo (郭), the bureau said.
All of the plates were ordered from Taiwan, manufactured in China, and shipped back to Taiwan for distribution, it said.
Police and local motor vehicle offices said that drivers’ attempts to avoid heavier fines for traffic offenses might be driving the use of falsified plates, and that some drivers might be acquiring falsified plates to conduct illegal activities.
Wei Wu-sheng (魏武盛), an official with the Ministry of Transportation and Communications’ Monitoring and Surveillance Division, said that local motor vehicle offices are creating a “gray list” of license plate numbers they suspect have been duplicated for use as falsified plates.
Multiple measures are being considered to stop the proliferation of falsified plates, adding that the Highway Bureau is also looking into measures to compensate potential victims, Wei said.
The bureau said that any attempt to forge or sell falsified license plates contravenes Article 212 of the Criminal Code and is punishable by up to a year in prison.
Using falsified plates is in contravention of Article 216 of the Criminal Code, and perpetrators can be sentenced to up to a year in prison and fined NT$3,600 to NT$10,800 for contravening the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例), it said.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chun-fu and Wu Liang-yi
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