The National Immigration Agency (NIA) yesterday said it has dismantled an illegal labor brokerage ring that allegedly recruited illegal migrant workers and visa overstayers for day labor and skimmed their wages.
A total of 33 suspects, including brokers, employers and workers, have been sent to prosecutors for investigation.
The NIA’s Taichung City Specialized Operation Brigade said in a statement that while investigating a brawl involving Indonesian nationals in the city, officers uncovered links to illegal brokerage and hiring activities.
Photo: CNA
Following a series of investigations, they found that a Taiwanese man, surnamed Hung (洪), the head of a construction company, allegedly led the ring. Hung has since last year been suspected of recruiting absconded migrant workers and visa overstayers, and sending them to jobs such as cleaning, hauling and stone breaking.
Hung allegedly took a daily cut of NT$500 to NT$1,100 (US$16.44 to US$36.17) from each worker. At its peak, the ring dispatched more than 50 workers, generating about NT$2 million in illicit gains over four months, the brigade said.
Hung’s Indonesian spouse, surnamed Hou (侯), allegedly helped recruit 27 Indonesian nationals and received a commission of NT$81,000, they added.
In early May, NIA officers searched Hung’s office in Taichung after obtaining a court warrant, seizing computers, mobile phones, contracts and ledgers as evidence, brigade deputy captain Tang Yu-tai (黨昱泰) said.
Thirty-three suspects — two employers, four labor brokers and 27 undocumented workers — were referred to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office in mid-May.
Asked why the case was made public more than four months later, Tang said the brigade could only release the information after receiving approval from prosecutors.
As of Sept. 18, the brigade had apprehended 245 illegal employers, 96 illegal brokers and 282 illegal workers this year. It pledged to continue cracking down on illegal brokerage rings.
Under Article 54 of the Employment Service Act (就業服務法), it is unlawful to refer foreign workers to third-party jobs without proper authorization, and those who contravene the law face a maximum fine of NT$500,000.
Article 64 of the act states that offenders who profit from such activities could face up to three years in prison, detention with hard labor, and/or a maximum fine of NT$1.2 million.
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