Four people were arrested in connection to a ticket scalping group that allegedly made NT$20 million (US$678,713) from selling tickets to a K-pop concert, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said today.
The group, allegedly led by a 42-year-old man surnamed Liu (柳), helped fans circumvent the name authentication effort through forged identification cards in collaboration with overseas groups, the bureau said.
K-pop superstar G-Dragon preformed at Taipei Arena for three consecutive days earlier this month, leading to some sellers trying to resell tickets online with the claim that they could pass the real-name authentication process, deputy captain Lee Chien-han (李建翰) said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs
The group announced that a “VVIP” ticket with face value of NT$8,980 was available for more than NT$50,000, Lee said.
The announcement led the bureau to form a task force of officers from Taipei and Taichung working under the direction of the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office, he said.
By tracing the account that posted the tickets, the task force identified the main suspect as Liu, he said.
Liu had previously worked in the credit investigation industry, but is suspected of ticket scalping for nearly three years, Lee added.
In collusion with a breakfast shop owner surnamed Chan (詹), a security guard surnamed Chiang (江) and an engineer surnamed Chen (陳), the men allegedly bought concert ticket redemption codes from a group in Hong Kong before selling them at six to 12 times the price, he said.
The group allegedly used ID number generators to forge fake IDs as well as edit ID photos by fans to create counterfeit documents for the tickets’ real-name authentication, he said.
The group allegedly obtained about 3,000 ticket codes, of which about 1,500 were for the G-Dragon concert that were sold at a profit of NT$20 million, he said.
The group also allegedly had tickets for an upcoming concert by K-pop group Blackpink and other artists, he added.
Upon gathering sufficient evidence, the task force launched raids across multiple locations, arresting Liu and three others, and seizing about 1,500 ticket codes, 44 physical tickets, artist merchandise, tools for forging IDs, cash and other evidence, the bureau said.
The suspects and some alleged buyers were taken in for questioning, after which the suspects were transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of contravening the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法) and the Household Registration Act (戶籍法), it added.
The former says that selling tickets for more than face value can result in a fine between 10 and 50 times the face value of the ticket, while the latter states that faking national ID cards can result in a penalty of five years in prison or a fine of NT$500,000.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday reported the return of large-scale Chinese air force activities after their unexplained absence for more than two weeks, which had prompted speculation regarding Beijing’s motives. China usually sends fighter jets, drones and other military aircraft around the nation on a daily basis. Interruptions to such routine are generally caused by bad weather. The Ministry of National Defense said it had detected 26 Chinese military aircraft in the Taiwan Strait over the previous 24 hours. It last reported that many aircraft on Feb. 25, when it spotted 30 aircraft, saying Beijing was carrying out another “joint combat
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
RSS