Prosecutors in Yilan County yesterday questioned a local councilor and several people over an alleged sex trade business forcing Taiwanese and foreign women into prostitution.
Jiaosi Township (礁溪) Councilor Chang Ching-cheng (張景程), 56, was denied bail and placed in judicial detention, while two other suspects, businessmen surnamed Yu (游) and Chen (陳), were detained earlier this week.
The three are facing charges of offenses against sexual morality under the Criminal Code, as alleged proprietors of a sex trade business and for human trafficking offenses, prosecutors said.
Photo: Wang Chun-chi, Taipei Times
Chang also faces charges under the the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例), they added.
Authorities and police over the past few days carried out searches at hotels, resorts and offices of suspects, during which about 30 women were rescued, prosecutors said, adding that the women said they had been forced into prostitution and were providing sexual services at private clubs.
Some of the women are Taiwanese, while others are foreign nationals from Southeast Asia, they said.
The foreigners came to Taiwan on tourists visas, or were offered jobs at restaurants or farms, but were threatened by proprietors, had their personal documents taken away and were forced to work as prostitutes, investigators said.
Yu and Chen are allegedly proprietors of the sex trade business, offering prostitutes, female hostesses and dancers for private clubs, bars and entertainment venues in Jiaosi Township to cater to the area’s flourishing tourism and hospitality sectors, which is well-known for its hot spring hotels and resorts with spa facilities.
The proprietors allegedly made deals with Chang, paying him monthly to shield them from police raids or to warn them in advance, to apply pressure on and slash the budget of police agencies, and to influence other officials to help protect the sex trade business from police crackdowns, prosecutors said.
Yu and Chen said they had paid Chang NT$80,000, but prosecutors said they believe the two had given more than that, adding that Chang also owned a private club with female hostesses and allegedly made high illegal profits.
In related news, police and special brigades of the National Immigration Agency (NIA) conducted raids in Yilan County, during which they questioned 60 people about alleged human trafficking of workers from Thailand.
A couple surnamed Lu (呂) and Yu (游), and another man were arrested on Sept. 9 as alleged ringleaders of an illegal labor brokering business that trafficked Thai nationals into Taiwan, the NIA said yesterday.
NIA officials also detained 57 Thai nationals, most of whom were found to have overstayed their 14-day tourist visa and had been sent to work illegal labor jobs in Yilan County, it said.
The Thai nationals lived in a two-story house, where they were tightly packed and slept on the floor, the NIA said, adding that several Thais were selected to supervise their compatriots.
The trio operated like a labor broker agency, sending the people on temporary jobs — which lasted from a few days to a week — on farms, construction sites, restaurants or to work in local government projects to dredge rivers and collect trash at shorelines, it said.
They would arrange transportation and meals for the Thai workers, who were paid only 50 to 70 percent of the regular wage, it added.
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