A Malaysian influencer has been sentenced to six months in prison for his involvement in a scam ring, the Changhua District Court announced.
Hu Chang Mun (許振文), who worked as a money mule for the fraud ring, on Jan. 2 was found guilty of attempting to scam a Taiwanese out of NT$2.88 million (US$87,885).
As Hu, 31, was not a core member of the group, pled guilty and was cooperative, the court handed him a lenient sentence.
Photo courtesy of the Changhua County Police Department
However, Hu is not eligible to have the sentence commuted to a fine and must serve the six months, the court said.
The ruling also said that as a foreign national found guilty of fraud in Taiwan, Hu would be deported after serving his sentence or if he is pardoned, as he is “not fit to remain in Taiwan.”
Better known by his influencer name Ady Hu, the Malaysian content creator traveled to Taiwan in December last year on a travel visa.
His family had lost contact with him and his parents held a news conference in Malaysia on Dec. 18 last year to ask the Taiwanese authorities to help find their son.
It was later confirmed that a foreign national arrested by Changhua County Police Department’s Yuanlin Precinct on Dec. 11 last year was Hu.
Hu became a money mule for a Taiwanese scam ring as early as Dec. 6, an indictment released by the Changhua District Prosecutors’ Office said.
Hu’s arrest was made possible after an unnamed person realized he was being scammed when asked to pay NT$2.88 million for an apparent stock trading opportunity over Line.
After concluding the “opportunity” was a scam, he reported it to the police.
As part of a sting operation on Dec. 11, the person arranged to meet Hu at a coffee shop in Changhua’s Yuanlin City (員林) to give him the money.
Hu claimed to be a foreign agent for an investment company sent to collect the funds, but after taking a package of fake bank notes, was arrested by undercover police officers.
The court’s ruling said that Hu admitted to having received NT$20,000 as payment for his participation in the ring, NT$11,000 of which has been entered into evidence, while the remainder has been confiscated.
Hu’s sentence can be appealed.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not