http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/RSS_NewsRelease.xml Cib NewsRelease zh-tw 2010/10/25 17:21 Cib A third-year junior high school student was under investigation for forging a government-issued one-year school and work suspension order, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The student, surnamed Wu, turned himself in to the police and told the authorities that he intended no harm. It was just an attempt to have fun, he said.
According to the police, a forger copied a template of a government order from the Central Personal Administration (CPA) website Sept. 19 and edited it to announce !§work and school to be suspended for one year!‥ due to Typhoon Fanapi. The forger posted the doctored document online and then published the link on the social network website Plurk, the police pointed out.
The announcement of an extraordinarily lengthy typhoon break was reported by some local news outlets.
The CIB started an investigation after receiving reports from the CPA and soon traced the forger!|s electronic footprint to a server registered to Wu, a Taipei City student, Captain Lee Hsi-ho (§o|eae) of the bureau said.
Wu told police he was only looking to have some fun during a typhoon day and was not plotting to confuse the public. The police sent Wu home after interviewing him and transferred the case to Taipei District Prosecutors Office.
Faking a government webpage or posting incorrect government information can be counted as forgery, which is punishable by a one to seven-year imprisonment, the CIB said.
This is not the first time the CIB has busted fake typhoon break announcers. The bureau caught two computer engineers working at an online game company for replicating the CPA website when Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan last year.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=299 2010/9/28 Police yesterday alerted the public to a fraudulent spam mail claiming that the United Nations would offer compensation to victims of fraud schemes.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said the email told the receivers that they were among 7,814 victims of fraud schemes who were entitled to a share of US$864 million in compensation from the U.N.
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has already posted an alert on its fraud-prevention web page concerning the spam, said the CIB.
The CIB's international affairs department said Taiwan is not a U.N. member and does not have a chance to participate in discussions or meetings in any of the U.N.’s committees.
People should be cautious when receiving emails that seem to be directly from the U.N., the CIB department said.
The CIB said it is the first time that the public has seen a fraud scheme posing as something sent from international organizations.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=293 2010/8/6
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently busted a crime ring suspected of seeking fraudulent gains from scratch lottery by collaborating with distributors of scratch-off lottery cards, and arrested a total of 12 suspects, according to CIB sources.

The crime ring was headed by Oung Tze-yung, 47, with members including Oung's wife Yu Min-hua, 44, his younger sister Oung Yu-ying, 45, and Oung's nephew Hong Dai-heng, 25, among others.

Oung Tze-yung confessed to the police that they purchased massive quantities scratch-off cards from four lottery tickets distributors in the greater Taipei area, with two in Yungho City of Taipei County and two in downtown Taipei. Then, they conducted micro scratch or dot scratch on the lottery cards, and then used a microscope to scan the "agent code" of each card to judge whether the card was a winning one.

Afterwards, the crime ring kept all the prize-winning scratch-off cards and sold the remainders back to the said four distributors at a 15 percent discount, and the distributors then sold the non-winning cards to downstream lottery ticket retailers and stations at a discount of 10 percent.

Oung told the police that they moved to conduct the fraudulent practice four years ago, but he couldn’t remember how many dot-scratched lottery cards had been distributed to the retail market.

After the scam was busted, Taiwan Lottery Co., issuer of the scratch-off cards, sent the dot-scratched lottery cards to the Canada-based Pollard Banknote lottery printing company for examination. Pollard officials said they have never seen such precision micro scratch skill in the past 21 years.

The 12 suspects will be sent to prosecution units on charges of committing fraud.

In related news, the Taiwan Lottery Co. said last night that the company has suspended online connections with the four lottery distributors involved in the scam, and will scrap their distributorship after the police send them to prosecution units for further investigation.

A company spokesman also noted that consumers can go to all the 134 branches of the Chinatrust Commercial Bank to replace compromised scratch-off cards with new, real ones.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=298 2010/8/27
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday announced a successful crackdown on a cross-border drug trafficking operation with the capture of its alleged drug lord in Taoyuan, Thursday. Investigators confiscated, among many things, small "drug balls" custom-designed to fit into one's rectum and be smuggled undetected across borders.

Having exchanged investigative information with Japanese authorities for some time now, the CIB, together with the Taoyuan County police, arrested on Thursday the suspected drug lord, surnamed Yang, 64, and four people working under him at Terminal 2 of the Taoyuan International Airport.

Also arrested was a woman, surnamed Chang, 29, and three drivers responsible for transporting drugs; police frisked them and found nine small balls of the psycho-stimulant drug, amphetamines, weighing at 559.5 grams total.

Since February, investigators have seized from the drug ring 5 kilograms of amphetamines. Between February and May, six members of the drug operation were arrested upon entering Japan and found carrying 4.6 kilograms of amphetamines.

According to the CIB, Yang was charged by the Shilin District Court in 2007 with smuggling heroin and sentenced to 15 years behind bars. Before he could serve his time, Yang fled and became a fugitive, hiding out in the Shiding Mountain of Taipei County.

It was there that Yang gathered together the jobless and introduced them to the world of drug trafficking. Recruiting the locals as drug distributors, Yang paid them anywhere between NT$50,000 and NT$200,000 depending on the amount they transported.

In Tokyo, Yang had a contact, surnamed Lin, who worked as a former tour guide and knew the area well. Lin was in charge of picking up the smugglers once they arrived in Japan.

According to police reports, the day before flying to Japan, Yang would force the smugglers to stuff three to four balls of drugs into their rectums for close to six hours to test their physical endurance. The "drug balls" were encased in foil and then balled up in saran wrap, a method that apparently made them undetectable to airport X-ray devices.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=297 2010/8/27 The suspect, surnamed Li, also provided fake driver licenses for NT$5,000. Li has been sent to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for investigation.
According to police reports, Li stumbled upon his vocation as a fake ID artist after he became a wanted man on suspicion of dealing drugs. To throw off the police search, Li realized he needed a new identity in order to apply for bank accounts, cell phone service or rent.
With the help of the Internet, Li learned how to make the most realistic National Identification Cards and acquired the necessary equipment. Within two months, Li had burnished his ID-manufacturing skills into a lucrative career.
A team of investigators from the Keelung City and Shilin District Police Departments first got wind of Li's illegal business when they noticed prostitutes, underage youths and wanted men using quality fake IDs apparently obtained from the same supplier.
After Li's arrest, police confiscated computers, laser engraving machines, inkjet and dot matrix printers, counterfeit stamps, laminating machines and other exceptionally professional ID-making equipment.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=296 2010/8/18
Maskvytis, 30, told police after his arrest that he had found and applied for a “working from home” job with an American-based company online. According to Maskvytis, the company sent him the checks and through a manual, instructed him to cash them, promising him 10 percent of the money provided that he wire the rest to an overseas account.

The Lithuanian claimed he panicked when he found out the checks were fakes and took the NT$46,000 all for himself.

Police investigations found that the company was an international fraud group specialized in fake banknotes. This is the first time one of their fake banknotes has appeared in Taiwan, the CIB said.

Maskvytis told the police that his failure to transfer 90 percent of the money back to the company might cause them to send a hit man to hunt him down.

According to the CIB, Maskvytis received a scholarship to study in Taiwan last February. He applied for a job from the American-based company online and received three European traveler's checks and a manual on how to handle the money in November 2009.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=295 2010/8/18 Acting on a tip-off, female investigators from the Chiayi City division of the Bureau of Investigation working undercover as customers discovered that a hair salon was selling a wide variety of Chinese-made clothing with the MIT label, said Chang You-jen, deputy chief of the division.
The investigators also found that the husband of the hair salon owner, surnamed Chen, was the mastermind behind the operation, which led to the seizure of the batch of fake products at a 6,610-square meter warehouse, according to Chang.
Chen is suspected of importing low-cost Chinese apparel and asking workers to remove "Made in China" labels and replace them with labels that read "Made in Taiwan" in selling the clothing under the "Wuge" brand.
The Chinese clothes cost roughly NT$100-NT$200 per item, but sold for twice to three times as much when sold to distributors around the country as "Made in Taiwan" products, Chang said.
He added that Chen has used the scheme to sell 150,000 garments since 2006 and has netted an estimated NT$20 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=294 2010/8/18 Taiwanese fraud groups are expanding their businesses into Southeast Asia and the police are highly concerned. The Taiwanese Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) is collaborating with the Vietnamese police for the first time and successfully arrested more than 100 Taiwanese and Chinese suspects.
Ma Jen-hua (馬振華) of the International Criminal Investigation Brigade said police officers from Taiwan, China and Vietnam all participated in the investigation. From June 29 to July 7, they broke seven fraud groups and arrested 76 Taiwanese and 28 Chinese suspects.
The police confiscated personal contact lists of almost 10,000 people, 18 desktop computers, 40 laptops, 198 mobile phones, strategy instruction manuals and accounting sheets. The Taiwanese suspects were arranged to be deported back to Taiwan and will be called to the Changhua District Prosecutors Office.
Ma said that because of the diligent investigation by the cross-strait police force, fraud groups moved their operations to southeastern countries. They thought the Vietnamese and Taiwanese police did not have a mechanism for working together, and that the Vietnamese police were not experienced in dealing with this kind of fraud. They thought they could get away easily.
When the Vietnamese police broke into the crime scene, the suspects were pretending to be police officers and prosecutors through the internet. Most of the Taiwanese suspects arrested arrived after the beginning of June. From the preliminary examination, each fraud group had attained more than NT$20 million and in total NT$600 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=292 2010/7/15
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Tuesday arrested six suspects for operating online auction fraud, from which tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars have been scammed, stated a CIB press release.
The CIB and police from different regions seized 18 cell phones, 40 SIM cards, four account books, eight bank cards and NT$100,000 cash of unlawful gain in the raid.
The ring was found to have posted advertisements on online auction websites, such as Yahoo! and Ruten, under the pretense of selling items priced much lower than their market value to attract Internet users, police said.
Victims would then call the "customer service hotline" to ask for information on the commodities they were interested in before transferring payments to the account provided by the swindlers.
The buyers did not realize they had been defrauded until they failed to receive the product they had paid for.
Hundreds of people across the country fell for the scam, with each of them conned out of many thousands of dollars, according to the police.
The illegal group also got around the online auction websites' certifying processes by using fake credit cards.
The police urged the public to go for long-established, recognized online stores, to avoid unfeasibly cheap items and to opt for face-to-face payments instead of money transfers.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=291 2010/7/12 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested six suspects in Taipei for allegedly manufacturing and selling counterfeit skin care products and food supplements, said the CIB.
The CIB and police from Yilan raided three places in northern Taiwan, seizing fake Complex Placenta Skin Essential from RJ International Group and Oyster and Clam Extract from Taiwan Sugar.
The fake goods totaled more than NT$2 million, police officials said.
The main suspect, Wu Chia-sheng (吳佳聲), 42, and his girlfriend, Lin Mei-chen (林美珍), 30, are believed to have made and packaged the items at their rented residence in Bali, Taipei County, said local reporters.
Another suspect surnamed Chiang then bought the items and had salesmen of his trade company sell them.
The authorities started investigating the case in March after receiving reports about fake goods sold from a trade company, different online stores, night markets and wholesale markets in Taipei and Yilan.
The group earned at least NT$5 million in undue profit from unsuspecting customers, according to the CIB.
Local media also reported that some people suffered diarrhea after consuming fake oyster and clam extracts.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=290 2010/7/12 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested 11 suspects for alleged violent debt collection and illegal baseball-betting operations in Taipei, a CIB press release stated.
In collaboration with police from different regions, the CIB nabbed the ring led by a suspect surnamed Yu, seizing machetes, hammers, wooden sticks, instant glue, among other items, which were used to assault debtors who failed to return loan fees accompanied by an outrageous interest rate.
The Taipei-County-based gang was found to have published advertisements in newspapers to attract victims to borrow money from the illegal group after the CIB started investigation into the case in April.
The group required every debtor to hand in photocopies of their identification cards and household certifications, which allowed the violent debt collectors to keep track of the victims and their family, said the CIB.
An illegal sports-betting service was also run by the group, in which people could put bets on different professional baseball teams, from local to Japanese and American squads, before they were burdened with huge debt in a short span.
The victims then had to rely on the ring's usury provision to pay off their debts.
The CIB estimated dozens of people have fallen victim to the gang's trap.
After preliminary interrogation, the suspects have been handed over to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=289 2010/7/12 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) brought back a fugitive wanted for manslaughter, alleged fraud and forgery from Vietnam yesterday afternoon, a CIB press release stated.
Upon arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the criminal, surnamed Lin, was handed over to Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office to serve his sentence of 22 months imprisonment for manslaughter.
Lin, 38, inadvertently killed an elderly pedestrian who he bumped his car into when he was driving drunk in Tainan City in 2000.
In April 2001, Lin was suspected of swindling NT$3.6 million from a victim, surnamed Chiang, with fabricated documents to convince the person to make investments.
Lin then left the island for Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, to avoid legal liability in November on the same year.
Being with a Vietnamese woman in the southeastern Asian country, Lin made his living by running a labor agency before he transferred to operate a trading company to import dye additives from the U.S.
The CIB started tracking Lin down after receiving information about his presence in Vietnam in mid May.
To prevent Lin from running away again, the CIB collaborated with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hanoi to arrest the fugitive as he went to the office to renew his current passport which is set to expire within six months.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=283 2010/6/8 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a Taipei gang, including the leader and 12 members, for collecting debts with violence, assault and other crimes, a CIB press release stated.
The main suspect, surnamed Chang, allegedly led his members to fill up their gas tanks at gas stations without paying for it by identifying themselves as gang members to intimidate the staff several times.
The arrested group, inclusive of five minors, was found to have brutally attacked an automobile repair shop owner and vandalized his store, after failure to extort the victim, CIB said.
In addition to violently collecting debts, the gang was also suspected of hitting a man to the ground, causing him to suffer severe injuries on the face, only because he went singing karaoke with one of the gangsters’ girlfriend.
　　In collaboration with Taipei and Taichung police, the CIB caught the illegal group who posed a serious danger to residents in Greater Taipei area.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=282 2010/6/7 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) collaborated with Malaysian and Singaporean police to arrest a suspect for swindling NT$30 million from fake stock transactions at Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur International Airport on May 17, a CIB press release stated.
A Malaysian businessman working for a Hong Kong company tried to purchase 32 million shares of stock of another listed company worth roughly NT$200 million from the suspect, surnamed Wang, 63.
The man then paid approximately NT$30 million to Wang as a reward before he obtained the shares, only to realize he had been defrauded by Wang, who owned zero share of the company’s stock.
After receiving the victim’s report, the Malaysian police asked the CIB to help track down the suspect.
Since the suspect was found to have entered Singapore 11 times between March and April, the CIB also turned to Singaporean authorities for help.
With the collaboration of the different police groups, the suspect was finally arrested at the airport as he attempted to enter Malaysia.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=281 2010/6/7
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) launched a free service for the public to create fingerprint cards, which could help find missing people back and identify nameless dead, local media reported yesterday.
With the service up and running, people now are allowed to produce individual fingerprint identification for their elderly, disabled family members and young children on their own.
Around 30,000 people are reported missing each year, but few have their fingerprint identification information included in the CIB's database.
The government only holds such records of criminal suspects and draftees, with information of most women and children excluded in the matching system.
This has thus made it difficult to identify people reported lost and bring them back to their families, the elderly who suffer dementia in particular.
The CIB also pointed out that only 60 percent of nameless deceased could be recognized for lack of sufficient references for fingerprint matching.
People can take the fingerprint card to a police station to upload the information to the database in case they have a missing family member.
These fingerprint cards will merely be used to look for missing individuals, said the CIB.
For details of the service, please visit the CIB's official website at http://www.cib.gov.tw/science/science0303.aspx
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=288 2010/6/29 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and Chinese police jointly launched the largest-ever anti-fraud operation yesterday, stated a CIB press release.
Having raided 57 places in 12 cities and counties on the island, the CIB arrested a total of 66 suspects and seized around NT$60 million of illicit money as of yesterday noon.
Chinese police force nabbed 56 suspects during the crackdown in more than 20 provinces on the other side of the Taiwan Strait, said the CIB.
Taiwanese police and its Chinese counterpart have busted over 400 fraudsters from some 60 cross-strait gangs, confiscating roughly NT$10 billion in unlawful gains, since a cooperation agreement between the two sides took effect last year.
Dubbed "1011," the project's first two digits refer to the year 2010 while the remaining two figures indicate this year's top priority of curbing scams.
The operation was named by police's resolution to crack down on swindling schemes, which have resulted in sizeable financial losses for victims from both sides.
Statistics from the CIB show that around 20,000 of various scam cases were reported from January to June, which involved NT$4 billion, compared with more than 24,000 cases involving nearly NT$7 billion during the same period of last year.
Suspects could see a sentence of up to five years in prison for fraud in Taiwan, while swindlers could be sentenced to life imprisonment in China.
The CIB urged the public to follow three anti-fraud tips: the first step is listening carefully to what a fraudster says over the phone.
The next step is to hang up the phone as soon as a scammer finishes talking in order not to be affected the conversation.
People are then advised to dial the anti-fraud hotline 165 to verify the situation they have been told.
Under no circumstances should an individual reveal personal information and transfer money to a stranger easily, police emphasized.


Caption:
CNA
Several suspects arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) are handed over to prosecutors in handcuffs. Having raided different places on the island, the CIB yesterday busted 66 people for alleged fraud crimes operated across the Taiwan Strait.

The CIB also seized NT$60 million cash during the raids yesterday.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=287 2010/6/29 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) urged women to be alert to international romance scams as more and more Taiwanese have fallen victim to South African fraudsters, a CIB press release has stated.
Most victims are highly educated women aged between 25 and 55, who frequent social networking sites in search of a relationship, but end up falling prey to Nigerian or Ghanaian swindlers based in Malaysia, Southeast Asia.
With all kinds of alluring words, they manipulated women to fall for them before they could actually cheat large sums of money from the innocent.
The CIB maintained that there are three typical phishing methods in hope that someone will take the bait of false online love.
Scammers will allege that they have shipped packages with cash inside to victims in Taiwan before asking them to wire a certain amount of money to Malaysia for reclaiming the items that were seized by Malaysian customs.
It is also not uncommon that a fraud group which pretends to be proficient in making good investments succeeds in wooing victims to transfer money to the southeastern country for fraudulent high-profit investment programs.
The third one involves a person claiming to be able to inherit a large sum from their deceased parents. But different taxes will be required before they can actually receive the inheritance. Fraudsters usually promise an enormous reward for those willing to pay the tax in advance for them.
The CIB advised the public to be cautious with online phishing, highlighting the difficulty to retrieve international money transfers.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=286 2010/6/29 Agents of Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and local police in Chiayi County have zeroed in on a certain suspect who allegedly set fire in an arson that killed three people and injured another from the same family early yesterday morning.
CIB agents and a prosecutor said surveillance tapes show a man of around 50 years old left the house of Chiu Ming-hsiung, the village chief of Shikou Township in southwestern Chiayi, at around 12:57 p.m. before a fire started at Chiu's house.
Chiu's wife, aged 76, one granddaughter, 15, and a grandson, 13, died in the fire while his daughter Chiu Shu-ling, who is with his running for a seat in township council, sustained minor injuries.
The family said the fire could be ignited deliberately for reasons related to the local election for which voters will go to the poll stations today.
But CIB agents, who were assigned swiftly to help solve the case, and the prosecutor said they have not ruled out any possibilities, including screening selected drug abusers in the area.
They stressed the current task is to track down the suspect as early as possible.
Forensics experts revealed that they had gathered some chemical residues at the scene but it would take a while to determine the substance.
People in the neighborhood said Chiu has maintained cordial relations with both candidates aiming to take over his position following his decision of not running for reelection after holding the seat for a long period of 16 years.
As for her daughter, they said Chiu Shu-ling is rated as able to take one of the six seats in the township council among eight competing candidates.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=285 2010/6/22 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) has arrested a father and his daughter in connection with allegedly the biggest fraud scheme where mobile phone SIM cards were sold to con artists, officials said yesterday.
The suspects paid people NT$500 to NT$1,000 in return for using their IDs to apply for mobile phone numbers, which they then resold at NT$1,500 to NT$2,000 to telephone fraud gangs, the CIB officials alleged.
The suspects, Lin Shih-ho and his daughter Hu-hui, reaped a few hundred thousand NT dollars in illegal profits each month because "demand" was huge, the officials said.
According to CIB, the pair set up a mobile phone retail store in Hsichih, Taipei County as a front for their illegal operations, and advertised in the newspapers offering cash for phone numbers.
They also teamed up with other mobile phone retail stores in other parts of Taiwan to form an alliance of such illegal operations.
The CIB targeted the Lins' shop after finding that it had processed the applications of one third of the mobile numbers that con artists had used, the officials said, adding the arrest came after a six-month investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=284 2010/6/22 Police busted an international drug-smuggling group, seizing 125 kilograms ketamine valued over NT$150 million and arresting five Malaysian suspects, local media reported yesterday.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), Taipei City police and military police found 25 kilograms of ketamine in a hotel room in the city, identifying two other 50-kilogram packages of ketamine among 300 bags of borax (硼砂) with a detection dog’s help inside a warehouse in Xindian, Taipei County, late on Monday.
The Taiwan-based illegal organization has been suspected of collaborating with a gang in Southeastern Asia to import ingredients to Malaysia, where the drugs were manufactured, before transporting the finalized items to Taiwan with cargo containers, police said.
The international group, consisting of at least 20 members, has worked under different units, in which the Malaysian suspects are responsible for smuggling the drugs to Taiwan by pretending to be the staff of a trading company.
The suspects have allegedly brought the drugs, which were mixed with borax, to Taiwan thrice, in which more than 100 kilograms of ketamine was trafficked each time, according to police.
The estimated total value of the ketamine smuggled by the group reaches over NT$500 million.
Police is making every effort to further track down the gang that has operated the drug trafficking from behind the scenes. The police suspects that the gang is located in northern Taiwan.




CNA
A large sum of ketamine found by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) is displayed in this photo. The CIB announced yesterday they have busted an international drug-smuggling group, seizing a total of 125 kilograms of ketamine, and arresting five suspects. A detection dog also helped identify the drugs mixed in the borax.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=280 2010/5/6
Police have arrested a fortune teller for allegedly selling fake medicine through an underground radio station in Tainan, local media reported yesterday.
Officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) also seized four boxes of counterfeit drugs and food supplements during a raid on the suspect's radio station office on Friday, officials were cited as saying.
The suspect, surnamed Su, confessed to having earned more than NT$5 million by selling the medicine in his fortune-telling radio program, CIB officials said.
Police cracked down in January this year on Su's operation, which began in 2008, but he resumed it later, the officials said.
The latest bust came after the CIB and Tainan police traced the locations of Su's office and the studio that helped broadcast his program in Tainan County and Tainan City, respectively.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=279 2010/5/6 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday busted a fraud group that mainly targeted Chinese victims in Taipei County, arresting 32 suspects.
Led by a man surnamed Chen, the Sanchong(三重)-based group has allegedly worked in three units over the past six months.
They first sent messages to Chinese victims as a reminder of overdue telephone or credit bills, asking them to call back.
　　On calling back, the victims would be told that their identity seemed to have been stolen by the female group members who pretended to be telecom company or bank staff in China, according to the CIB.
　　The victims would then be transferred to another unit of the group, where other male members pretended to be police and urged the victims to report the theft of their personal data.
　　The victims would finally be made to speak to other male suspects who acted as prosecutors or judges and requested them to put their money in custody due to their engagement in fraud and money laundering.
　　Victims could either transfer the money to the appointed bank account or offer cash to the fake authorities in China, who would later launder the money to Taiwan.
The group is also suspected of defrauding Taiwanese civilians through the same scheme, said the CIB.
The women in the group, deceived by false job positions looking for customer service staff, had been forced to join the gang, and were being paid NT$100 per hour.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=278 2010/5/6 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested three suspects for trading with forged U.S. dollars and renminbi, local media reported.
Police said the three suspects, surnamed Cheng, Lin and Wu, were found with 2,318 sheets of counterfeit US$100 as well as 4 forged 100 renminbi bills in their apartments in Taipei City.
According to local reporters, Cheng, 34, Lin, 56, and Wu, 67, would often show up in the Wanhua District, and tell victims that they have an overseas bank account, hence possess a large amount of foreign currency.
The suspects would persuade people to buy dollars or renminbi from them by giving a selling price at a seemingly good rate, police said.
CIB officials said the forged currencies were elaborately made, and differences were barely noticeable.
Police added that the group of three worked cautiously, often changing dealing sites last minute.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=277 2010/5/6
A Taoyuan gang leader confessed to killing his six-year-old daughter last year after he was arrested for allegedly committing two murder cases yesterday morning, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
After his arrest yesterday morning, the suspect, Chen Wen-yung, denied murdering a man but admitted to hitting his daughter for her rejection to have a meal, thus causing her to bump her head into a wall and to stop breathing soon after, said the United Evening News.
With Chen’s direction, the police discovered the girl’s body at a location in Jungli (中壢), Taoyuan County, where she was buried after allegedly being killed by her father at the end of last year.
The suspect, age 64, also demanded that his younger son, delivered by his fourth wife, to masquerade as the dead child walking around their residence before he reported a case of his “missing” girl to the police.
The police are further investigating the girl’s murder case as some suspicious details, such as Chen’s fourth wife’s knowledge of how the girl was killed, need to be clarified.
Chen was originally chased down by the police as he was suspected of killing a 39-year-old man, surnamed Huang, who allegedly had scammed him for more than NT$ 8 million, before abandoning the man’s body.
The police found Chen’s involvement in his daughter’s death while monitoring Chen’s current wife, also the fourth one.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=275 2010/4/21
arrested a drug-selling gang, including the leader “Queen Bee” and 14

other suspects, and found roughly 200 grams of amphetamine on the scene,

local media reported yesterday.
Lu Yi-ling (陸依齡), called “Queen Bee” for her previous

violent behavior, began operating the illegal group by hiring drug

addicts in their 20s after being released from jail last November, and

has earned tens of thousands of dollars since then.
Lu, age 28, directed her members in their drug dealing via phone

at a residence she rented in Nanzih (楠梓), Kaohsiung City, in order to

escape the attention of the police, the Apple Daily said.
Lu was found abusing one of her subordinates before, attempting

to kill him by pushing him from the 13th floor of a building, about two

years ago.
After purchasing the narcotics at NT$5,000 per pack, Lu

repackaged the items before selling them at NT$12,000 per pack, according

to the newspaper.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=274 2010/4/20
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday caught 11 young female suspects who were involved in gambling and fraud ring activities in Taipei County, TVBS reporters said.
According to CIB officials, the female suspects are a part of a gang that goes around in northern Taiwan with laptops that are installed with an online version of Russian roulette and tricks men into gambling with them using that program.
The female suspects, all arrested with name brand bags in-hand, allegedly dressed scantily to attract random men’s attention, flirted and then convinced them to play a round and place a bet, said the officials.
They tended to purposely let victims win a few rounds before they used software that duped them, resulting in pocketing large sums of money, they added.
When victims ran out of cash, helpers from the fraud ring would arrive to assist in threatening the victims to sign a promissory note.
Officials said the suspects, mainly college students, tended to work with a male partner who drove them around to look for prospective targets.
Local reporters said the gang consisted of around 40 female members, with the youngest only 21 years old, adding that they tended to aim for older men.


CNA

1.
A gang of mainly college students uses an online Russian roulette game to deceive victims for money.
2.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau arrests 11 female suspects who are involved in a fraud ring.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=273 2010/4/20 Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) caught the prime suspect in the 1985 Emperor Hotel arson case two days ago in Chiayi County and charged him with homicide. The CIB investigators arrested 50-year-old Chen Dong-rong at his rented home nine days before the statute of limitations for the case expired. He pleaded guilty on the spot, the CIB said.
In a jealous rage, Chen rounded up his friends Wang, Lin, and Cheng to set fire to Tainan City’s Emperor Hotel after consuming alcohol on April 1, 1985, according to police.
The fire killed 28 people, and all were caught except Chen, who went into hiding. While incognito, Chen worked part-time and moved around, police said.
Wang received capital punishment while Lin was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Cheng to 15 years in jail, reported local media.
Tainan District Court listed Chen on the wanted list in the same year, with a 25-year timeframe to initiate legal actions.
Tainan County police discovered last December that Chen was using a false identity and hiding in Minghsiung Township in Chiayi County.
Chen went back to his Tainan City hometown for a short stay during Chinese New Year holidays, according to police.
Police found two sets of identification when they arrested Chen. One was found and another stolen, Chen said.
Chen was not trying to disguise himself, with little change in appearance, police said.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=272 2010/4/20 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) started its second anti-crime operation this year yesterday morning and had arrested 47 suspects, including five gangs, by noon yesterday.
The CIB nabbed a violent group of debt collectors led by a man, surnamed Cheng and his subordinates, who had operated an illegal underground bank and committed violent debt collection, illegal intimidation, offenses against personal liberty, assault and property damage.
Another gang led by a man, surnamed Li, was captured by the CIB for extortion, assault and store smashing.
The CIB also arrested an illegal group led by a man, surnamed Lin, for committing unlawful intimidation, land occupation, property damage and assault.
The Taipei City Police captured a violent group of debt collectors led by a man, surnamed Teng, and his subordinates, who have committed illegal intimidation, offenses against personal liberty and assault.
The Changhua Police caught a gang leader, surnamed Hsieh, and his subordinates, who were suspected of violent debt collection, extortion and assault, according to the National Police Agency.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=271 2010/4/20 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Tuesday found a Taipei clinic scamming National Health Insurance (NHI) by fabricating clinical histories, local media reported yesterday.
The Shinyue Clinic (心悅診所), operated by two doctors, surnamed Cheng and Lin,
located on Xinglong Road, Taipei City, was discovered to have misused at least 300 people’s NHI cards when they visited the clinic, each paying around NT$100 for a basic health examination, a required document for signing up for a driver’s license test, the CIB said.
　　The body check was excluded from the NHI’s coverage. The clinic asked the individuals to offer their NHI cards for registering personal information; however, their real intention was to create such fake clinical diseases as obesity and acute respiratory tract infection, which are covered by the NHI. Thus, registering the cards allowed the clinic to claim benefits from the Bureau of NHI, ranging from NT$170 to NT$375 each, according to the Liberty Times.
The victims reported to the police after spotting the problematic medical records on their NHI cards through the Internet.
The medical and administrative staff, as well as the clinic’s computers were brought back by the police for further investigation.
Since the victims all enrolled in a driving course with the same driving school, the police is looking into the case to see if it was engaged in the fraud of NHI benefits.
The police also suspected the number of the victims had reached more than 1,000.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=270 2010/4/20 Last October, the female victim, surnamed Yeh, received a call from a person who claimed to be the staff of“ Pacific Shopping Center of Hong Kong HQ (太平洋購物中心香港總部)”saying they were considering investing a shopping mall in Ontario Province, Canada, according to the CIB
A few days later, she was told by another person that she had won a prize of HK$760,000 (about NT$3.04 million) and another HK$13.68 million (about NT$54.72 million) for winning a horse racing bet they made in her name.
From last October to this January, Yeh has transferred NT$14.5 million and came to realize the whole event was only a scam.
　　Yeh later decided to report to the Taiwanese Police through the Internet after the Canadian police said they could not help her for lack of an authority to track down criminals in a foreign country.
　　Believing the con artists committed the fraud in Malaysia, the CIB turned to the local police for help.
　　In cooperation with the Taiwanese police, the Malaysian police finally captured five suspects, four Chinese and one Indian included.
However, the Malaysian police told the victim it was impossible to retrieve the money back.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=269 2010/4/20 The police arrested a man Thursday evening for allegedly making blackmail calls to a local food products company in Taipei City, local media reported.
Reporters said the police caught the suspect, surnamed Hsieh, in a public phone booth on Zhongxiao West Road as he was making another blackmail call to the renowned company, having made several earlier in the day.
Hsieh, 50, asked the company for US$5 million (approximately NT$159 million), local media said, or he would drug their products.
Police said Hsieh claimed that he randomly decided to make the phone calls and blackmail the company because he has been unemployed for a long time.
When Hsieh was arrested, he only had NT$50 on him, officials said.
According to the police, Hsieh has previously been involved in various crimes, including fraud and robbery, for the past two decades.
He has been in and out of prison several times already, they continued.
Local reporters said Hsieh seemed to be suffering from mental disorders.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said actual poisoning did not take place, so there is no need for the public to panic.
The well-known local food products company said they received threatening calls from Hsieh Thursday afternoon.
CIB officers who were assigned to this case bought time by attempting to bargain the ransom down to US$2 million.
Then by the evening, when Hsieh called again, the CIB successfully located him, they added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=268 2010/4/1 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested celebrity Hsu Shao-yang (許紹洋) and 12 gang members yesterday.
Hsu was involved in a brawl against Tien Tao Meng (天道盟) members over a girl in a Taipei 101 night club last year in October, according to police.
To retaliate, Hsu asked his friends, members of Bamboo Union (竹聯幫), for help.
After firing three shots in the air as a warning, Hsu’s allies beat up Tien Tao Meng members, inflicting serious injuries.
One of the Bamboo Union members, surnamed Kuo, was the head of the union’s Xiao Division, according to the CIB.
Kuo was involved in illegal debt collecting and robberies. The division headed by him illegally bounded and imprisoned debtors, even pushing one to commit suicide by jumping off a building in February.
Police indicted the 12 members for offenses against Organized Crime Prevention Act, Personal Liberty, and for homicide, intimidation and extortion, causing injuries, and narcotics.
During the investigation, police discovered Hsu instigated the gang fight.
They are still investigating whether Hsu was involved in gang activities, reported local media.

Caption:
CNA
Actor Hsu Shao-yang (許紹洋) surrounded by media after his indictment yesterday for instigating a gang fight.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=267 2010/4/1 The 50-year-old man, identified only by his family name Chen, was picked up by agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) which is handling the investigation, at his residence in an apartment building on Section 3 of Zhongxiao East Road early Thursday evening.
Chen confessed that he did have written a message on a Web site, threatening the lives of the president's two adult daughters.
The suspect, a computer engineer who was married with two sons, told police during questioning that he had made the threat because he was dissatisfied with the state of affairs in Taiwan, including the government's efforts seeking a trade pact with China to avoid the marginalization of Taiwan economy, according to senior officials at the CIB.
Chen was turned over to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office that ordered his release on bail of NT$50,000 after questioning him for more than one hour yesterday morning.
The threat was made in a Chinese-language article posted online by Chen under the heading, "Don't think you're safe just because you're in the U.S," referring to Ma's two daughters who both reside in the U.S.
Chen also urged Taiwanese people living in the U.S. to kill the two sisters who are in their 20s.
CIB agents started a manhunt hours after they were alerted to the online threat, although the message was removed only a couple of hours later.
Local police and security authorities had at first asked Washington for help, thinking that Chen was staying in the United States because he was using a U.S. Yahoo account. But they soon tracked him down in Taipei.
According to police, Chen's wife and children were shocked to see him arrested.
Chen apologized during questioning, saying that no concrete actions related to the threat were taken. He also said that he had no idea the article -- one of 30 that he posted on the site -- was written for the purpose releasing emotional feelings would have caused such a stir.
Presidential Office spokesman Lo Chih-chiang declined to comment on the matter, saying only that the president had been fully informed of the incident and security around the first family had been tightened.
Chen was expected to be indicted by prosecutors on charges of instigating criminal acts or obstructing public order.

Caption:
CNA

A 50-year-old man, identified only by his family name Chen, was referred to prosecutors for investigation yesterday after he confessed to police that made an online threat to kill President Ma Ying-jeou's two daughters. He was released on bail later.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=266 2010/3/23 The main 55-year-old suspect, surnamed Wang, who owned an auto maintenance factory in Tainan County, had formed a fraud group with 11 other suspects to con car insurance benefits since 2006; so far, the group had obtained NT$8 million insurance benefits by victimizing 12 insurance companies.
The illegal group first bought insurance from an auto insurance company and later created fake car crashes at locations without surveillance cameras or claimed to have traffic incidents by driving their cars into a fish pond.
After reporting the cases to the police, they drove the problematic cars to Wang’s factory for repairs and received estimated maintenance costs from Wang, which were used to claim insurance benefits from the company they had sign an insurance contract with.
Once having successfully obtained the money, they transferred ownerships of the cars to another group member.
The same scheme was played with other insurance companies, too, police said.
One of the members, surnamed Huang, 25, raised suspicions from his insurance companies, which reported the case to the police, as he had encountered four car incidents within 18 months.
After a thorough search, the police nabbed 12 suspects and are continuing to investigate the fraud cases.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=265 2010/3/23 The victim, surnamed Wang, stumbled upon an appealing advertisement of a second-hand car on a newly-established online car auction Web site costing nearly half of the usual market price.
Wang decided to pay for the used auto after having received copies of the seller’s bank account book, bank card, and a stamp, falling prey to the fraud.
Initially, Wang thought he could withdraw the payment whenever he wanted to, since he had the seller’s banking information at hand. However, it did not occur to him that the suspect had already transferred the money to another account shortly after.
Police said he realized the event was a fraud after having waited for the arrival of the SUV for an unusual length of time.
The police warned the public to be careful with online auctions, highlighting the importance of not buying items that are selling at an unreasonably low price as it may turn out to be a fraud or a problematic product.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=264 2010/3/23 The main 55-year-old suspect, surnamed Wang, who owned an auto maintenance factory in Tainan County, had formed a fraud group with 11 other suspects to con car insurance benefits since 2006; so far, the group had obtained NT$8 million insurance benefits by victimizing 12 insurance companies.
The illegal group first bought insurance from an auto insurance company and later created fake car crashes at locations without surveillance cameras or claimed to have traffic incidents by driving their cars into a fish pond.
After reporting the cases to the police, they drove the problematic cars to Wang’s factory for repairs and received estimated maintenance costs from Wang, which were used to claim insurance benefits from the company they had sign an insurance contract with.
Once having successfully obtained the money, they transferred ownerships of the cars to another group member.
The same scheme was played with other insurance companies, too, police said.
One of the members, surnamed Huang, 25, raised suspicions from his insurance companies, which reported the case to the police, as he had encountered four car incidents within 18 months.
After a thorough search, the police nabbed 12 suspects and are continuing to investigate the fraud cases.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=263 2010/3/23 It is illegal to carry more than 20 grams of third- and fourth-grade drugs. By law, “20 grams” refers to the net weight of the carried drugs. Since the police on the front lines do not carry proper devices to measure the net weight of drugs, they will arrest people who carry a total of more than 20 grams of third- and fourth-grade drugs, take them to the police station, run test on their urine and send them to prosecutors, the CIB emphasized.
After examination of the net weight of the drugs, the court will decide whether to levy a fine, even if the suspect claims the net weight of the drugs is under 20 grams.
According to the CIB, people who carry fewer than 20 grams of third- and fourth-grade drugs will be fined up to NT$50,000 and be required to attend a lecture on the effects of taking illegal drugs. People who sell drugs will face more severe punishment and the 20-gram limit does not apply.
By law, people who carry more than 20 grams of third- and fourth-grade drugs will be arrested by the police.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=259 2010/3/2 According to the CIB, the "Nigerian Scam," as its name implies, originated in Nigeria and is now a worldwide scheme. Typically, in order to con victims, swindlers send e-mail or fax to random people and claim to be a royal descendent, a bank manager whose dead clients have no one to receive their inheritance, a person who needs to transfer money to a foreign country due to coup in their countries, or a person who pretends to invest in oil extraction.
A Taiwanese businessman who was promised NT$100 million by an African woman for his help in transferring her NT$400 million inheritance from his deceased father to a foreign country proved to be a victim of the “Nigerian Scam,” the CIB added.
The CIB also warned the public against being greedy to avoid any scam. If in doubt, they should call the anti-fraud line 165 or 110 to report the case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=258 2010/3/2 Escorted by Criminal Invetigation Bureau (CIB) agents, Pai Hung-sen, a former speaker of the Changhua County Council, was handcuffed as he got off a ship carrying him to Kinmen from China's coastal city of Xiamen.
According to Lin De-hua, commissioner of CIB, Pai looked tired and remained tight-lipped. He was then flown to Taipei.
The former county chief managed to escape from a hospital in Taichung where he was being treated under police custody on Dec. 4, and then fled to Xiamen, Lin said.
He was found guilty of corruption for using government money for wining and dining, Lin added.
The Supreme Court commuted his original four-year sentence to three years and 10 months on March 4, the day when news came that he had been arrested in Xiamen.
Pai was repatriated with two others. One of them is his brother-in-law, Luo Tao-chien, who was also sentenced in the same corruption case.
The other is Yang Hao-hsiung, who allegedly helped Pai flee Taiwan, police said.
Police officers from Taiwan were supposed to escort the three fugitives from Xiamen to Kinmen in the morning, but the foggy weather delayed the repatriation to the afternoon.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=262 2010/3/15 After searching four locations in Taichung City and Taichung County, the police and the prosecutors finally caught the three illegal groups led by suspects surnamed Tsai, Lan and Chang.
The three groups had been composed of employers with financial difficulties since last November, who have used computers, the Internet and telephone machines to spread false voice mail about overdue phone bills to random Chinese individuals. By pretending to be telephone company staff members and the Chinese police, they asked their victims to transfer the payments to a specific bank account, from which another member of the groups would withdraw money.
To make the scam more convincing, the con artists even broadcasted a fabricated conversation between the Chinese police and the staff of a telephone company in the background of the voice mail, according to the police.
The police discovered computers, Internet Protocol sharing devices, telephones, cell phones, surveillance cameras, paper shredders, fraud guidance, personal information and bank information of the Chinese victims on the scenes.
Since the case involved victims from China, the police need to seek the Chinese police’s assistance in investigating the problematic bank accounts in China used by the groups and the Chinese fraud victims.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=261 2010/3/15 The male suspect, a Singaporean surnamed Liang, came to Taiwan to work for a restaurant in the east district of Taipei City last April and has committed many crimes since then. He never paid back his loans, and he even sold the furniture and appliances in the room he rented without his landlord's consent. Consequently, his charges included fraud, appropriation and illegal intimidation and thus became a fugitive. His work permit and residence permit are being revoked, the CIB said.
Meanwhile, the suspect also conned a few entertainers into participating in a charity Halloween Party hosted in the name of Wang Lee-hom, a famous pop singer; the case is under police investigation.
The police arrested the man at a hotel in Taipei City. He was later found to have committed fraud in Singapore, Australia, China and Hong Kong last year, the CIB added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=260 2010/3/15 If the pawn shops in question do not rectify the situation after three offenses, they will be given the maximum fine under the law for each offense until the problem is corrected, CIB said.
For example, under the new rule, an unlicensed pawn shop will be issued a fine of NT$60,000 for the first offense, NT$100,000 for the second offense, and NT$140,000 for the third offense, CIB said.
In the past, a pawn shop without an operating license would be given a fine of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000.
In the meantime, any unlicensed operator will be asked to close down until a license is obtained, CIB said.
Operators however will be given a chance to explain themselves if they were busted by police, CIB said.
The CIB's action is intended to make the law clearer, thus preventing operators from exploiting the grey areas.
Many of today's pawn shops are only nominal -- they are in reality loan sharks lending out money at overtly high interest rates.
Some of them are known to put out misleading ads, luring people to borrow money without leaving collaterals. When people can't pay back their loans, the loan sharks will use various terror tactics to collect.
All these actions are in clear violation of law regulating Taiwan's pawning industry, CIB said, adding that many pawn shop operators have been charged with forgery, breach of trust, fraud and various other crimes.
Police will step up their enforcement efforts to prevent pawn shops from conducting illegal operations, CIB said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=257 2010/2/25 　　However, the Internet is full of traps, so be sure you do not unintentionally break the law or become a victim of fraud, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
Some swindlers hack into business accounts’ auction pages, selling goods while deliberately scamming bidders. Buyers paid money but never receive their merchandise, the CIB added.
Police reminded people not to use their date of birth or ID numbers as account passwords to help guard against hackers.
Since many islanders chose to watch movies or listen to music at home during the holidays, the Taipei District Public Prosecutors Office noted that although copious amounts of music and videos are offered online, whether they are paid for or free, people should be careful not to violate the intellectual property rights.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=256 2010/2/25
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked down on a car theft and disassembling organization that has been operating at large for the past four years, arresting all seven suspect involved.

According to bureau officials, the organization headed by suspected mastermind Chiu Ming-tsung favors Taiwan-manufactured cars over foreign models and finds its targets in parking lots and city streets near the exits of national highways.

After stealing the vehicles, the organization members would drive the cars to disassembling factories in Yilan City and Hualien County and make the necessary alterations and tunings before reselling the cars.

The police have fingered Chiu as the grand master of the auto scheme, who despite being incarcerated for the past three weeks for similar crimes, continued to control his underlings in prison. Police estimate that Chiu's group has stolen over 1,000 vehicles from 2006 to the present.

The CIB yesterday sent investigation teams to Jian Township in Hualien County and Yilan City, where they captured and arrested Chiu and his girlfriend Chu Chia-hui, 29, and suspects Wu Min-lang, 46, Wang Chih-chieh, 29, Yang Shen-jung, 30, Lin Ching-wei, 30, and Wu Tien-chung, 46.

At the factories, officials impounded 23 stolen vehicles as well as various car engines, auto parts and driver!|s licenses.



CNA



Officials of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) accost the arrested suspects in a car theft and disassembling organization, whose illegal activities spanned four years.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=309 2010/10/21 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), dispatching over 250 police nationwide across the Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Penghu and other regions, conducted a major crackdown yesterday on the sale and adulteration of nonprescription slimming products, arresting over 22 people and confiscating 20,000 pills.
Primary police investigation has identified married couple Hou Wei-shi and Lai Hsiao-ling as the main suspects in distributing the counterfeit dietary supplements, unlawfully making over NT$20 million in profits. Twenty others who reportedly work under them have also been arrested.
According to Chunghua Prosecutors Office, the couple founded NewStar Biotechnology Company (http://www.newstarbio.com.tw/) last July, creating Taipei City and Kaohsiung City branches that serve as the parent company to nine smaller businesses.
Police also searched two prominent drug stores, DingDing Pharmacy and Yes Chain, which were found to carry the prohibited products. Both companies have publicly announced they would remove the illegal products. Yes Chain provided toxicology tests that proved that they no longer stock products with banned substances.
According to CIB reports, the couple imported from Canada dietary supplements that contain undeclared substances like the pharmaceutical analogue n-desmethyl-sibutramine, repackaging the bottles and marketing them as the slimming product "Beauteeplus." Other products such as the SOD beverage and pills under the name of "Ai-hsien" were distributed and sold to the two pharmacies.
So far, around 200,000 pills of Beauteeplus have been sold. The couple has gained NT$20 million from the unlawful distribution and sale of these pills. Their ruse was blown when Beauteeplus customers in Chunghua County felt ill upon consuming the over-the-counter pills and complained to the Department of Health (DOH). The DOH sent the pills for a toxicology analysis and discovered that it contained banned substances, subsequently contacting the local prosecutors office.
The couple will be charged with violation of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, which is punishable by up to eight years in prison.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=308 2010/10/13 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and Yilan Police on Monday arrested three men in Yilan County for vandalizing properties, robbery and other crimes in two hostess bars in Japan, stated a CIB press release yesterday.
The main suspect behind the crimes, a woman surnamed Tsai, is still on the run.
The arrested suspects, Ku Chi-wen, 37, Li Chuan-chung, 29, and Lin Kuan-yu, 25, were found to have held club managers hostage in the restrooms before they vandalized the equipment and furniture inside the two hostess clubs in Tokyo on March 18, police said.
The gangsters also robbed one manager of his cell phone, totaling an NT$3.19 million financial loss for the two night-time entertaining businesses.
Starting her hostess bar 23 years ago in the same area as the two ravaged clubs, Tsai decided to hand over the ownership to her niece, surnamed Li, as she retired around 7 years ago, according to police.
At the time Li agreed to offer Tsai a monthly reward ranging from NT$300,000 to NT$600,000.
But Tsai became angered over the fact that Li rejected to continue the payment on the grounds that business was poor in January and that she opened a new hostess bar in the same building in February.
Tsai thus organized the crimes to destroy Li's bar and another club operated by Tsai's former staff, which could pose a threat to her existing profits, police added.
The four suspects flew back to Taiwan one day after they committed the crimes, while Tsai later fled to China in the middle of April.
After their arrest, the suspects confessed to having committed the crimes under Tsai's direction.
Taiwanese Police will collaborate with Japanese and Chinese counterparts in tracing Tsai down.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=307 2010/10/13 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) together with the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office nabbed a mainland Chinese woman as the main suspect in operating a prostitution ring.
The bureau also arrested the woman's husband - the ring's alleged mastermind- some pimps, and a few prostitutes many of whom were minors.
When news spread of a woman, known as "Miss Ching," recruiting minors into illegal sexual transactions in late 2009, Taoyuan District Prosecutors immediately commenced investigations. Their file on Ching indicated that she was from mainland China and had arrived to Taiwan in 2002, marring two Taiwanese men during that time.
During their probe, many nicknames came up, including "A-tung," "Psycho," and "Boss." After further investigations, "Psycho" was found to be Ching's second husband as well as the mastermind behind the ring.
The pair controlled around 10 prostitutes, many of whom were underage. Ching's code word for underage girls was "green apple." The madam allegedly informed clients of her services through text messages. Ching was also in charge of arranging client appointments, booking hotel rooms, and sent pimps to drive the girls to their destination.
The CIB urged parents to watch over their children, especially teenagers. In the summer, when students often feel the need to take up part-time jobs, many can be unsuspectingly lured into illegal activities that promise high pay.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=305 2010/10/13 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), working with its international counterparts, on June 3 and Aug. 9 nabbed suspected drug dealers surnamed Wang and Chuan in Japan and Malaysia, respectively.
Wang was arrested and brought to trial on June 4 while the Malaysian government extradited Chuan, yesterday. Chuan boarded a 2 p.m. China Airlines flight back to Taiwan, arriving at the Taoyuan International Airport at 7 p.m. yesterday, where CIB officials promptly took him into custody.
According to investigation bureau reports, in 2007, Wang and Chuan learned in the Chinese province of Fujian how to make the chemicals "ephedrine," "iodine," and "red phosphorus" in a drug lab. The chemicals are required in the production of methamphetamine.
Once they mastered the art of meth, the duo returned to Taiwan in 2008. Together with a man surnamed Bai, the men erected a drug lab in the mountainous area of Keelung and produced large quantities of amphetamines -- the synthetic psychoactive drug.
Wang and Chuan were reportedly tight with crime families in both China and Japan. The men mainly shipped and supplied their illegal goods to members of "yakuza," Japan's notorious organized crime family, even helping top yakuza syndicate, the Yamaguchi-gumi, establish a drug-production base in Taiwan.
Police busted the drug lab in 2009 and arrested Bai and four other men. Wang and Chuan used an underground tunnel to escape, then fleeing all the way to mainland China. In the meantime, the Keelung District Court sentenced Bai and the others to seven years imprisonment and formally arrested Wang and Chuan, making them fugitives.
Working with its counterparts in Japan and Malaysia, CIB caught Wang on his way to Japan to negotiate a drug deal on June 3. Chuan was reportedly hiding in Malaysia. On May 25, Chuan made a trip from Malaysia to Tokyo, returning on May 27. Malaysian authorities tracked Chuan down and upon Taiwan's request, extradited him months later.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=304 2010/10/13 Officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) apprehended one of Taiwan!|s most wanted criminals Monday while he was making a call from a pay phone to set up a visit from a call girl in Sinjhuang City, Taipei County.
Wang !§the cowhide!‥ Chun-wei, 26, ended his 7-year streak at the top of most wanted lists in the central counties of Taichung and Yunlin Monday at around 8:00 p.m. after officers from a top-secret stake out operation decided to act on the golden opportunity when Wang got out of his car to make the call.
The authorities have been cautious in taking down Wang, due to concern over his heavy firepower and renowned ruthlessness.
The officers!| caution was vindicated Monday when Wang was caught carrying two loaded handguns and over 60 rounds of ammunition. He is known to be extremely careful and keeps hand grenades and pistols with him at all times. Since being on the run, he has stayed mostly in northern Taiwan. The authorities caught the rare break due to his need for female company, local media reported.
Wang, responsible for the murders of two Taichung gang members, as well as multiple kidnappings and shoot outs, began his triad career back in his junior high school years. He earned his reputation and the nickname !§the cowhide!‥ after surviving a gang fight in 2000 where he sustained over 20 knife wounds. He was known to have said that !§if you decide to be a gangster, you might as well be the biggest one.!‥
!@!@
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=303 2010/10/13 Authorities on both side of the Taiwan Strait cooperated yesterday in the largest-ever crackdown on fraud rings in which 450 suspects were nabbed in China and Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
The simultaneous raids were launched in Taiwan's 12 counties and cities as well as the Chinese provinces of Fujian, Huanan, Hubei, Anhui, Guangdong and Guangxi, and in Chongqing City, CIB Director Lin Teh-hua said.
In total, 548 Taiwanese law enforcement officers and 2,720 Chinese police officers participated in the operation.
Police officers apprehended 121 people in Taiwan and seized NT$11 million of what they believed to be swindled funds. The authorities also took with them items such as computers, servers, mobile phones, forged official seals, counterfeit courier uniforms, pistols, "fraud manuals", and passbooks.
On the other hand, mainland police officers caught 329 suspects and confiscated similar items that were believed to have been used by the fraud rings.
Taiwan police explained that fraud rings usually swindle people by posing as prosecutors, failing to deliver goods bought on websites, tricking victims to remit money via ATMs, and delivering only empty boxes to people who purchased goods.
The operation has ungrounded the largest cross-strait telecommunication company providing service for fraud call centers in Taiwan and Fujian, the largest cross-strait official seal forgery center in Huanan and the largest website shopping fraud center in Hubei, Lin pointed out.
Operators of several telecommunications companies in Taiwan and China, which helped transmit calls in cases of fraud, were arrested this time, as police found these operators were part of the scheme rather than innocent third parties as they had claimed, Lin added.
Yesterday!|s raid was latest addition to the 16 joint raids by police units on both sides of the strait that had seen the arrest of more]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=302 2010/10/13 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), in partnership with Vietnam authorities, yesterday successfully extradited from Ho Chi Minh City, an overseas fugitive in possession of dangerous firearms.
The suspect, surnamed Liu, has been a wanted man since 2007, when he jumped bail after being arrested for waving a powerful Smith & Wesson gun and threatening to kill himself in Fongshan City, Kaohsiung County, back in 2006.
On September 4, 2006, Liu's case was being tried at the Kaohsiung District Court, but the suspect disappeared. Police were able to trace his whereabouts to Vietnam and the court issued an arrest warrant for Liu on February 6, 2007.
At the time of the case, Liu was the owner of a shrimp fishing joint that employed female Vietnamese workers. Through their connections, he was able to relocate to Vietnam, where he stayed with a local woman and for four years, lived a quiet life taking on odd jobs and growing grapes.
Vietnamese authorities, working with the CIB, soon grew suspicious of the grape planter and drew attention to Liu's whereabouts. As police were about to close in on him, Liu changed his residence again.
Liu had converted to the I-Kuan Tao religion in Vietnam. Officers were able to track him down through his teacher and asked him to convince Liu to return to Taiwan and own up to his crimes. Instead, Vietnam police found Liu in Ho Chi Men City on Wednesday, Aug. 25 and promptly arrested him.
Liu arrived yesterday at the Kaohsiung International Airport at 4pm. Officials arrested him and immediately sent him to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office.


]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=301 2010/10/13 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), working with authorities in Thailand, cracked down on an international telecommunications fraud ring led by Taiwanese men yesterday, arresting a total of 10 men and eight women.
Officers of the Chon Buri Police Station long suspected that residents of the T.W. CITY HOME neighborhood on Ammsasang Road as well as a villa in the Blublewalb compound on the same street were up to no good. High-speed Internet had been installed in the Blublewalb villa, which Thai police suspected was the fraud ring's "Call Center" headquarters.
On Sept. 10, Thai officers broke into the T.W. CITY HOME apartment, arresting eight men and five women. Down the street at the Blublewalb villa, two men and three women were additionally arrested.
According to Thai police reports, the group is led by three Taiwanese men surnamed He, Lin and Du. The trio met in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau, recruiting a total of eight Chinese women. They also lured jobless young adults in Taiwan into their operations with the promise of enormous salaries.
The group's modus operandi involved getting the women to call up mainland Chinese citizens, pretending to be bank or telecommunication tellers and informing the unsuspecting people that they had been victims of identity theft, with their names falsely registered in several accounts. Then they would switch roles and pretend to be public security, instructing the victims how to transfer money in order to avoid large interest fees or telephone bills.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=300 2010/10/13 Suspect Lo Hsien-lung, his Thai wife surnamed Wu, and four other accomplices were detained on Christmas Eve on charge of the violation of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act.
This is the first case in Taiwan of which such services being offered online.
To avoid the trace from the law enforcement, the ring set up the Web site in California two years ago, and established operation bases in Thailand and Cambodia, said CIB.
The online platform provided services in traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, English, and Japanese, said the police.
The group sought potential surrogate mothers in Thailand and Vietnam. Good-looking surrogate mothers or candidates with higher education background fetched a higher price for the ring from couples that yearn for a baby.
According to the CIB, each case cost around NT$1.6 million, and the surrogate mothers had given birth to some 20 babies for Taiwanese couples.
The group had made a profit of at least NT$30 million, said the officials.
Yet the actual amount of money made from the surrogate cases outside of Taiwan was not available as of yesterday.
After the infertile couples signed the contract, paid partial outlay in U.S. dollars, they would be guided to Thailand or Cambodia to take the sperms and ovum, and then embryos would be implanted into the chosen surrogate mothers, said the police.
The gang also offered "higher quality" services, said the CIB. After the surrogate mothers were confirmed pregnant, they would move into designated apartments in the same community where Lo lived in Taiwan. The customers had to pay the surrogate mothers' living expenses.
The ring registered the children under infertile Thai couples in hospitals in Thailand, and completed the adoption process in Taiwan with the documents authorized by the hospitals, added the CIB.
According to the existing laws in Taiwan, persons who benefit from the surrogate cases violate the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act.
Registering the children to their own is also against the law, added the officials. The parents would be charged with forgery, and possibly with human trafficking if the eggs were from a third party.
The police yesterday questioned the parents of five children who were born by surrogate mothers and found that the customers include infertile couples and single women.
The documents of the five children clearly listed the fathers and mothers according to eggs donors, thus forgery was not involved, said the police.
The investigators would further investigate if the ring involved forgery and human trafficking.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=252 2010/1/5 The CIB received information last year indicating mastermind You Kuo-pao (尤國寶) and his company set up a debt-collecting firm, which used violence to intimidate clients.
Law enforcers arrested You and other eight suspects, and seized NT$60 million in cash, believed to be the operation’s proceeds.
The CIB also seized weapons, handcuffs, and shackles that the suspects allegedly used to control and intimidate the victims, said the report.
You, 56, was reported to have relations with the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫), the largest gang in Taiwan, said the Liberty Times.
But You denied being involved with the union -- stating that he only knew some gang-members.
The CIB revealed that the group allegedly forced the victims to sign notes promising payment.
You and his accomplices also shot videos, in which victims appear to sign the papers voluntarily, said the report.
According to the report, You attempted to collect a debt of NT$800,000 from a dialysis patient, who was not able to pay the amount.
The group then turned on the victim's mother, aged in her seventies, forcing her to sell off her property and provide her fingerprint as an acknowledgement, added the report.
The report also said the group occupied a textile merchant's company in Taipei’s Datong District (大同區) where it attempted to demand liabilities of more than NT$10 million.
The gang is also alleged to have forced the victim to renounce ownership of land in Taoyuan, which the gang believed would benefit from the airport's upgrade project and become worth up to NT$600 million.
The CIB said it would investigate whether or not the group was involved.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=255 2010/1/29 The suspect allegedly wired money from Taiwan to China through black markets for foreign currency trading for the fraud group and charged commissions.
Law enforcers estimated that the suspect had earned up to NT$10 million from the schemes.
CIB broke the case through a fraud ring it weeded out jointly with Chinese police in September 2009.
Law enforcers in Taiwan and China apprehended mastermind Chuang Cheng-che (莊政哲), accomplice Chang Yu-chih (張宇志), and other 36 people in the ring, and raided their base in a villa in Chengdu, the capital city of China’s Sichuan province.
The fraudsters operated by impersonating prosecutors and government officials, and telling their victims that they were involved in money laundering and their bank accounts would be closed.
CIB noted that the victims were from all over the nation and included elderly people who were 70 to 80 years old.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=254 2010/1/21 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) nabbed nine suspects, including the 25-year-old mastermind, surnamed Wu, the CIB said.
According to officers, several members who had felt remorse and expressed inclination to leave the organization were subject to aggression and forced to pay NT$120,000 in "training fee."
The ring ran their operation by levying exorbitant charges on loans — as high as 720 percent in annual interest, with interest collection taking place every seven to ten days, officers said.
Those who failed to pay off debts found relatives and friends targeted by the suspects, who would also post flyers alongside victims' residences demanding payment or to "suffer consequences," said police.
Most of the recruits had been out of work prior to joining the ring, said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=253 2010/1/21 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Friday seized 181 imported firearms and 22,685 cartridges aboard a fishing boat, officers were cited as saying.
The weapons included rarely seen briefcase submachine guns and dumdum bullets used only by special agents or professional assassins, said a Central News Agency (CNA) report.
One of the suspects arrested was a man, surnamed Ting, who is believed to be the mastermind behind the smuggling operation, the CIB said.
Ting had in the past allegedly supplied weapons to wanted gunmen in Taiwan, the CIB added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=233 2009/9/28 The crime ring leader, surnamed Chuang, was captured in Sichuan Province in China. He recruited students, soldiers and drug-addicts to impersonate law enforcers or government officials. The victims were called up and told they were involved in money laundering and their bank accounts would be seized.
To enhance the credibility in their fraudulent calls, the fraudsters even added "sound effects" by having extras pretend to be government officials scolding subordinates in the background to create an atmosphere of a real government office.
The ring was mainly based in Sichuan, where the leaders gave directions to fellows in Taiwan to retrieve the money.
The CIB in Taiwan arrested a suspect several months ago and found the guy involved in a fraudster ring in China. The officials informed the Chinese law enforcement and jointly weeded out the ring on both sides.
Police officials have seized several fraud groups that target Chinese citizens since the authorities in Taiwan and China agreed in June to cooperate in fighting financial fraud.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=232 2009/9/15 The bureau arrested the three men surnamed Lee, Lin, and Chen after confiscating 197 sets of cutting-edge bugging instruments imported mostly from China.
The three admitted that they had been selling the instruments in their high-tech gadget stores located in Taipei City and adjacent Taipei County as well as through auction stores on the Internet.
The highly sensitive devices were in various forms like wristwatches, cigarette lighters, ballpoint pens, or buttons.
They can be easily installed and concealed on electrical household appliances, handbags, fire and smoke detectors inside buildings, emergency lights, and remote control toy cars.
In spite of their miniature sizes, the devices had highly sensitive and powerful functions including eavesdropping, making videorecordings, and recording voices and images.
The bugging devices are also capable of instant wireless transmission of the data such as voices and images without the knowledge of the victims, said agents of the CIB under the National Police Agency (NPA)
The three suspects were turned over to the Taipei and Banqiao prosecutors office for further investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=231 2009/9/11 Their identification was withheld.They visited victims, telling them their bank accounts were being closed because they were under investigation, the CIB spokesman said.
The victims were then told to go to their banks to withdraw all the money they had deposited. The money was then given to the impostors for "safe-keeping."
Those who hesitated to make the withdrawal were threatened with arrest, the CIB official said.
All 11 were arraigned before Taoyuan district prosecutors in the afternoon. They were charged with forgery, fraud, and impersonation as public functionaries.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=230 2009/7/29 The supsect, Lin Hai-yen, 56, promised those who helped foot the inheritance tax for the old woman's fortune that they would be repaid twice as much, CIB said.
According to the CIB, Lin and four other accomplices have been allegedly conning people, mostly those within the Buddhist community in Miaoli City, for the past six years.
Recruiting a 96-year-old woman from a nursing home, Lin told the Buddhist followers that the woman had a fortune of NT$900 million and her daughter, who was the heir apparent and a friend of Lin's, was struggling to pay the inheritance tax.
She claimed that whoever paid the greatest amount of inheritance tax would become the "God-grandson" or "God-granddaughter" to the old lady.
When officers arrested Lin and the others, they uncovered from their homes numerous cell phones and piles of paper documenting credit card transfers and billing information.
The overall money totalled approximately NT$140 million, CIB said.
Although Lin is known to be illiterate, she was able to put her persuasive talking skills and cunning into good use.
When people became suspicious of her alleged scam, Lin and her accomplices even impersonated law officers in order to intimidate them into giving more money, causing many to further go in debt.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=229 2009/7/28 Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently received a report of fraud from a 60 year-old woman surnamed Chang. She said that she had received a call from someone who claimed to be from "Magic Luxury Goods" in Kaohsiung early in June.
Shortly after a VIP discount card and company brochures arrived in the mail, she was informed that she had won a crystal chandelier worth NT$1.2 million in a company drawing.
The impostors even provided a telephone number to an overseas bank for reference when they asked her to transfer handling fees and a cash deposit in order to receive the prize. The victim only realized that she had been swindled after paying NT$1.77 million, added the report.
Also in June, another woman surnamed Chao received an international call from a man who claimed he was the assistant manger of a lottery company recruiting members. The victim wired NT$1.4 million before realizing she was cheated.
The police said that criminals have technological capabilities to alter caller identification information and to reconnect any dialed number to their designated telephone lines. Before making any payments, check with the fraud hotline 165, police reminded the public.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=228 2009/7/24 Two men surnamed Chen and Lau suspected to be involved in the Jilin tea house shooting in 2000 were repatriated and escorted back to Taiwan by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) from Macau yesterday.
The shooting occurred on August 16 that year, and the owner of the tea house, Fang Shih-hsiang, was shot dead. A member of the CIB, Lin Fu-lai, was shot three times but managed to survive. The incident shocked the public, and criminal gangs were suspected of being involved.
Chen and Lau fled to Zhuhai in mainland China, and were repatriated with the help of the mainland authorities under an agreement to crack down on crime on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The CIB believes that the capture of Chen and Lau will be a great boost in their efforts to solve the case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=227 2009/6/29 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a notorious duo of rapists that haunted northern Taiwan for the past three years.
The police tie the two suspects, Yen Yung-tai, 32, and Lu Peng-tien, 33, to seven reported cases of sexual assault, although they also believe that there are more victims that have remained silent. Out of the seven reported cases, three involved teenage girls, the youngest aged only fourteen at the time of the alleged assault.
The two were tracked down by the CIB through the use of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) samples. The police urged any victims who have stayed silent to come forward and report their cases to the police.
The duo began their spree of violence in June 2006, when they posed as policemen and stopped an underaged girl riding her motorcycle in Xinzhuang, Taipei County. They told her she was being taken back to the police station for questioning. The girl was assaulted in a public toilet, and the duo fled the scene.
On September 5 of that same year, the pair stopped another girl riding a motorcycle in Linkou, Taipei County, demanding to see her license. She refused, and the pair assaulted her in some bushes nearby.
On May 9, 2007, the pair approached a betel nut stand near Su Ao, Ilan County, pretending to be interested in buying NT$1,000 of betel nuts. The shopkeeper could not take her two daughters, both in middle school, to school because she was too busy packing the nuts, so asked the pair to take them to school. Both daughters were assaulted by the pair in their car.
On March 29 this year, the pair told a young woman that they would help her find a job. Instead, they tricked her into a motel room, got her drunk, beat her, and raped her six times in the span of two hours. They also suffocated her with a pillow.
Yan is a former member of the army's special forces, and bragged to the police about keeping three girlfriends at the same time.
Two of his girlfriends have given birth to Yan's children. There is also a warrant out for the arrest of Yan's younger brother, who is also wanted in relation to sexual assault charges. Yan told the police he assaulted the girls because he wanted more excitement.
Lu is married with a two year-old child. Lu admitted to the police that he carried out his crimes also to seek excitement.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=226 2009/6/24 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested yesterday five medical doctors and seven accomplices in an insurance fraud in which the suspects switched test samples to cheat insurance firms for compensation.
Agents at the CIB under the National Police Agency apprehended two suspects surnamed Fu and Lin last December for disguising tissue from cancer patients as their own to get insurance claims from several insurance companies.
The CIB started an investigation after insurance firms sensed an unusual high percentage of policyholders suffering from cancer not long after they purchased health insurance coverage.
Aided by the Bureau of National Health Insurance and the Financial Supervisory Commission, CIB agents gathered evidence showing that members of a criminal syndicate had collaborated with doctors at various hospitals to add tissue of cancer patients and formalin (formaldehyde) to the samples of policyholders.
After receiving medical reports with positive tests for cancer, the disguised patients used the test results to apply for compensation, which were then split among people involved in the scheme.
The five doctors placed under arrest include those working at the Renai branch of the Taipei Municipal Hospital, Keelung Hospital under the Department of Health, the Chung Shan Medical University Hospital in central Taichung City, plus two hospitals in northern Taoyuan County and southwestern Yunlin County.
Supervisors at the hospitals said they will take disciplinary actions against the involved medical workers after they are convicted.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=225 2009/6/10 Two former drug addicts were apprehended yesterday in northern Danshui for manufacturing and selling amphetamines, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The suspects, a man and a woman who had been previously sentenced to forced rehabilitation on charges of substance abuse, made their own drugs in a rented apartment located in a remote area.
The CIB confiscated large quantities of amphetamines and drug paraphernalia upon the arrests.
Investigators said the suspects started experimenting with the production of the illegal substance in April, and by May they were already profiting from sales.
To avoid police suspicion, the two would ask several of their friends to purchase ingredients and tools to make the drugs, the CIB said.
The case has been forwarded to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=224 2009/6/10 Four suspects were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday at Tungkang near Pingtung in southern Taiwan on charges of dope trafficking.
Tungkang is a fishing port, known for its catch of expensive black tunas.
The CIB and Pingtung police rounded up the suspects as they were transporting heroin from a fishing boat arriving from the Philippines.
Only one of them was identified as Chen.
The skipper of the tuna boat was not charged. He told investigators he did not know he was transporting 16 packs of heroin totaling six kilograms.
The drug, worth at least NT$40 million (US$1.3 million), was seized.
The CIB investigators said the suspects took advantage of dragon boat races at the fishing port to carry the drug ashore.
"They knew we were busy keeping order because there were a record-number of spectators who came from all around the county of Pingtung to cheer their teams," a Tungkang police lieutenant said.
He admitted the police were tipped by an informant. "Otherwise," he said, "we couldn't bring the dope traffickers to justice."]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=223 2009/6/10 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) advises the public to read the fine print and be cautious when purchasing the services of funeral companies, after a woman in Kaohsiung was cheated of NT$120,000 by the manager of one such company who has since fled to mainland China.
The woman, surnamed Huang, was introduced to the company by her neighbor, who also happened to run the company. Huang signed a contract with the company in 2002 on her father's behalf while he was still alive, and had since paid the company over NT$120,000.
Only when her father died in May this year, Huang could no longer contact the company as her neighbor had already fled to mainland China.
Huang never had any suspicions regarding the company, as it regularly hosted lavish events for its members, and as the manager was her neighbor.
Contrary to the applicable laws, the company never paid any of Huang's pre-payments into a trust fund. The law requires seventy-five percent of advance payments to be held on trust for the customer, and that the customer be regularly updated on the whereabouts of his money.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=222 2009/6/10 Eighteen stolen bicycle cases have been solved between February and May this year, while about 290 stolen bikes have been located, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
The rate of stolen bicycles has increased as of May since the cycling trend surged in the country, officials from the bureau said.
Officials said people had not reported as many stolen bikes to the police in the past because bicycle prices used to be lower.
But as the cycling trend surges in this country, cyclists have started buying better quality bikes that are worth more, which is why they are more likely to report it to the police, the CIB officials added.
According to the CIB, a plan to decrease stolen bike cases was launched in February.
The plan involves increasing surveillance in public places where more bikes are parked, such as train and busstations and around shopping centers, officials continued.
Officials said the plan continues through July.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=221 2009/6/10 A Taiwanese suspect who had been living in China for over a decade was repatriated yesterday in the first joint operation since the two sides signed a mutual judicial agreement last week, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
Huang Shang-feng, 47, who was wanted by the CIB for attempted murder, had fled to China to escape prosecution 14 years ago.
The suspect was flown in from Macau after being captured in a joint operation by police from Taiwan and China.
Police said Huang masterminded a plot to kill Chang Chin-tu, a Kaohsiung district prosecutor who Huang wanted dead because Chang had requested the courts to sentence Huang's mother to prison on charges of drug trafficking.
The incident occurred in January 1995, when Huang ordered a gunman to kill Chang on his way to work. The criminal fired 12 shots at Chang, who miraculously survived but only after undergoing 11 surgeries.
After hearing the news about Huang's repatriation, Chang told local media he held no personal grudge against him, adding that he will respect the court's decision on the case. He declined to comment further.
The CIB said the case is the first to be carried out under a new agreement on mutual judicial assistance between China and Taiwan that was inked April 26 in an attempt to crack down on severe crimes such as murder, smuggling, human trafficking, and terrorist activities.
According to the new agreement, the two sides will exchange crime-related information and help each other solve cases. Each side will also collaborate in seizing and repatriating criminals and suspects.
Other major crimes listed under the joint crackdown agreement include robbery, hijacking, money laundering and falsifying currencies and securities.
In the past, the lack of cooperation between judicial authorities from the two sides created opportunities for criminal suspects to escape to and hide in the other side, while joint police operations were rare.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=217 2009/5/5 Six suspects were arrested in connection to an underground money-lending syndicate in Kaohsiung County that used violence to collect debts, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
The main suspect, surnamed Lin, led the others in an operation that targeted people in the southern county's Linyuan Township.
Initial investigation indicates that the ring victimized at least 30 people over the course of a year, said the CIB.
Lin even lent money at high interest rates to his own relatives, and used violent methods to collect payments, including physical aggression and spray-painting vile messages outside their residences.
The CIB called on the public to help capture more suspects by coming forth with any information they can provide.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=216 2009/5/5 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), yesterday, warned about online scams that prey on people anxious to get their hands on facemasks amid the global H1N1 flu scare.
The CIB said public fear of the latest swine flu epidemic has given rise to fraudulent online operations selling facemasks, with already over 20 cases reported to the 165 anti-fraud hotline just this month.
Victims reported monetary losses ranging between NT$900 and NT$14,000, said police.
A common scam preys on the victims' desire to purchase the much-publicized N95 respirators, whose filtration capabilities exceed those of normal facemasks if properly fitted, according to the U.S. FDA.
The "N95" designation means that when subjected to careful testing, the respirator blocks at least 95 percent of very small test particles.
The U.S. FDA says that facemasks and N95 respirators are devices that may help prevent person-to-person spread of germs, and are part of an infection-control strategy that should also include frequent hand washing and social distancing.
N95s are made by various manufacturers under different names, such as 3M's Particulate Respirator 8670F and Pasture's Tm F550G Respirator.
The CIB urged people who purchase facemasks online to insist on paying only after the products have been delivered and carefully inspected for expiration dates and possible defects.
The bureau also advised the public to be wary of online vendors who pressure customers to transfer payments into specified bank accounts and those who do not offer a transaction method that can be traced.
One of the victims, a woman surnamed Wang who resides in northern Taoyuan County, told the CIB that she purchased NT$7,200 worth of N95 respirators along with three co-workers.
Wang notified police after waiting for two days for the masks to arrive. Police informed her that the contact number she was given by the online vendor had already been reported for fraud at least twice and had already been disconnected.
The Web site where Wang purchased the facemasks was no longer accessible, police added.
Wang told investigators that after placing her order, the scammers called her several times urging her to transfer the payment "as soon as possible because supplies were running out fast."]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=220 2009/5/14 Five suspects were arrested in connection to a financial pyramid scam in Taipei County, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said, yesterday.
Upon the arrests in Chungli City of the northern county, police confiscated over NT$5 million in cash, as well as contracts, computers, membership manuals, personal account information and other documents.
CIB officers said they will arrest the other six suspects in connection to the case. The bureau asked the public to report any information to help police hone in on more suspects.
The illegal operation attracted at least 2,000 members, who each paid NT$7,500 in monthly fees, said investigators. Membership initiation required an additional NT$12,500.
In return, the operation paid its members a monthly "interest" fee of NT$2,500, to which a NT$200 "administrative fee" was deducted.
The criminal operation would also hold computerized bidding activities three times per month, offering rewards between NT$14,800 to NT$250,000 of pooled money amounts to the highest bidder, who was also given free lifetime membership.
Initial investigation uncovered that the scam group, which has been in operation for at least two years, made over 360 percent in profit from membership fees.
The case has been forwarded to the Panchiao District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=219 2009/5/14 Seven suspects were arrested in southern Kaohsiung County in connection to a criminal ring that stole electricity cables and trafficked drugs, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
Investigators said the main suspect, surnamed Kuo, led the others in robbing cables that belonged to Taiwan Power Company, causing frequent power outages in the Chihkuan and Yongan townships of the southern county.
Police confiscated over 15,000 meters of electricity cables, drugs, and a number of bicycles upon the arrests.
The criminal group, which has been in operation since last October, also stole a large number of bicycles, said police.
The case has been forwarded to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=218 2009/5/14 A Singapore national was arrested as he tried to smuggle over one kilogram of high-grade heroin into the country, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The CIB was notified Monday that the suspect, surnamed Lee, was flying from his native Singapore to Taiwan and that he might be trying to smuggle drugs in his carry-on luggage.
Upon his arrival at Taoyuan's international airport, X-rays of Lee's carry-on luggage unveiled hidden compartments and drug-sniffing canines also reacted to the luggage. Officers said they also found a questionable substance hidden in Lee's checked-in luggage.
Police confiscated 1.3 kilograms of first-grade heroin, Lee's mobile phone, and other evidence.
Police said Lee, who is disabled, tried to take advantage of special expedited immigration procedures for disabled persons to go through customs.
According to an investigation, Lee owed a large sum of money from gambling debts, which he tried to pay off by joining an international drug trafficking ring.
Investigators said Lee was able to smuggle drugs successfully into Taiwan twice since August of last year. The drug exchanges took place at five-star hotels, where Lee would meet with local drug traffickers, said police.
The case has been forwarded to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=214 2009/4/8 Four suspects have been arrested in connection to a drug trafficking operation that smuggled at least 30 kilograms of ketamines, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
Police confiscated over 30 kilograms of ketamines, mobile phones, an automatic mahjong table, and more than NT$300,000 (US$8,877) in cash stashed away in a residence in Taoyuan County's Luchu Township.
The CIB said the main suspect, surnamed Lu, led the international criminal operation in smuggling drugs from China, and planned to sell the drugs during the Spring Scream music festival, one of the country's largest outdoor events that takes place every year in southern Pingtung's beach resort of Kenting.
The ring used the automatic mahjong table set to hide the drugs, which police suspect the criminal operation smuggled into Taiwan in packages that entered via air or sea transport.
Investigators said Lu traveled to China and Japan several times in recent years. His last trip to China was in March, when investigators said they suspect Lu arranged for drugs to be smuggled.
The case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation into other members of the criminal group.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=213 2009/4/8 The CIB yesterday warned the public of a fraud operation that targets elderly victims by handing out red envelopes as "political party subsidies" to gain their trust - only to empty their bank accounts afterwards.
One of the victims, an 81-year-old Taipei City resident surnamed Chiang, told police a man and a woman paid him a visit days earlier, saying they were political party representatives who were conducting a survey.
The criminals gave him a red envelope with NT$1,000 (US$29.6) and told him he qualified for "political party subsidies" for veterans.
Chiang was then asked to provide his bank information, including his password and stamp, in order to transfer the amounts into his account.
After Chiang handed over the requested materials, the woman excused herself by saying she was running out to the car to get an application form and left with Chiang's bank information.
Chiang later discovered that his account was missing NT$70,000.
Another victim, an 83-year-old resident of Nantou surnamed Chao, also reported the same scam to police. He said he was visited by two women pretending to represent a political party and was given a red envelope containing NT$1,200.The two women told Chao the same story about the political party subsidies and asked him to hand over his bank information to "deposit the subsidy."The next morning Chao discovered that NT$700,000 was withdrawn from his account.
The CIB said the criminals illegally obtained personal information on the elderly victims, including their address and phone numbers.
According to investigators, the criminals chose to visit the elderly victims during lunchtime hours and on weekdays, so as
to avoid running into other family members in the house.
The CIB urged the public, particularly elderly citizens, to beware of the scam and report any suspicious activity that might lead to the capture of the con artists.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=212 2009/4/8 Sixteen alleged gang members have been arrested in Taipei for running an illegal operation that cheated people out of nearly NT$10 billion (US$293 million) in bad checks, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
CIB officers cooperated with Tatung District Police and Shilin District Prosecutors to hone in on the suspects following six months of investigation.
Police confiscated company stamps, an array of filled out and blank checks, deposit books, name lists of check sellers and buyers, company registration documents, import lists, advertising material, 30 mobile phones, two toy guns, and NT$358,400 in ill-obtained funds.
The CIB said the criminal ring acquired a number of insolvent companies and after two to six months of accruing false transaction records, obtained company checkbooks from over 10 banks. The criminal operation then sold checks at NT$8,000 to NT$20,000 by placing ads in newspapers.
Investigators said the main suspect, surnamed Chang, has a previous police record for selling bad checks in Tainan County in 2007.
Further investigation uncovered that of the companies that the criminal ring operated since January of last year, one of them accrued 46 bounced checks that amounted to about NT$130 million, another bounced 288 checks totaling another NT$130 million, and a third wrote out 226 bad checks for a total of NT$60 million.
Other companies that operated under the ring bounced checks of comparable amounts, with the entire operation cheating victims out of nearly NT$10 billion, according to initial estimates.
The CIB said the criminal ring was able to evade police since April 2007 by moving its base of operations several times.
Investigators said the operation kept careful records of all checks and made sure to change locations before the unsuspecting victims would try to cash the bad checks in order to avoid being pursued.
The case has been forwarded to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office. Police said they are broadening the scope of the investigation to find out if there are more suspects involved with the ring.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=211 2009/4/6 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested a man for allegedly defrauding another out of more than NT$70 million (US$2 million) in false land development contracts in Taipei City.
The suspect, surnamed Yen, first persuaded the victim, surnamed Kuo, to invest over NT$30 million in the development of a plot of land located in the city's Kangning area of Neihu District by gaining his trust and promising that he would obtain NT$100 million in return.
According to investigators, Yen also managed to convince Kuo to apply for a bank loan of over NT$30 million, which he was granted after proving his ownership of a property in the city's upscale Xinyi District.
As a guarantee for the loan, Yen gave Kuo a check for NT$30 million, saying that he himself took out a bank loan against a property in Taipei County's Chungho City.
The CIB first learned about the suspect from the victim's lawyer, who reported the case to police.
Police said there are no projects under development nor slated for development in the future on said piece of land according to city's New Construction Office.
Further investigation also uncovered that Yen's NT$30 million check bounced.
Yen at first denied the charges and said he had invested Kuo's NT$70 million into a development projects of the land in question.
The suspect maintained that he was innocent of the charges, which were brought upon him because Kuo simply changed his mind about the investment.
The case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=210 2009/4/6 The Central Election Commission (CEC) yesterday reminded the public that it is illegal to try to sell referendum ballots, even if they are blank, in response to a recent case of a man who tried to auction-off a ballot online.
Such action constitutes a direct violation of Taiwan's referendum regulations and violators are subject to jail sentences of under one year and fines of under NT$15,000, said the CEC.
The commission added that it was collaborating with the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) and the Taipei District Prosecutors Office in processing said case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=215 2009/4/13 About 40 suspects were arrested in connection with a local fraud ring that targeted Chinese victims, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said yesterday.
The suspects were nabbed in central Taichung City on Wednesday. CIB operatives confiscated nearly 5,000 personal information files on Chinese nationals.
Initial investigation placed the criminal ring's fraudulent gains at over NT$20 million in the last three months.
The fraud ring comprised three separate groups, said the CIB. The three suspected masterminds of the groups that formed the criminal ring were Kao Chun-sen, Fu Sih-wen, and Yang Shih-yi.
The ring would first have female members pretend to be China Telecom customer service representatives and call the victims to inform them that their phone payments were late and that their identities had been stolen.
The victims were then directed to a certain public security division (run by the criminal ring unbeknownst to the victims) to report the "identity theft." After the unsuspecting victims called the fake office, they were urged to transfer all the money in their bank accounts via ATM into a stipulated account to ensure its safety.
One of the masterminds, Yang, was previously a Taiwanese businessman in China. When questioned by the CIB, Yang said he was just getting back the money he had lost after his business failed in China.
According to police reports, the suspects would first obtain up-to-date personal information about the victims from documents, financial accounts, mobile phone applications, and other paperwork in order to win their victims' trust. The suspects even learned to speak with their victims' accent to avoid suspicion.
The CIB said the criminal ring offered many benefits to its members, including food and shelter. Those who worked for the ring as China Telecom customer service members were given five percent in commissions, while the pretend public security division workers were paid seven percent. The rest was pocketed and used by the criminal leaders to pay for utilities and other bills to keep the operation running.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=196 2009/3/5 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday sent a man to the Keelung District Prosecutors Office for offenses against personal liberty and negligent killing after he caused a traffic accident that led to a woman's death and seriously injured another man following a high-speed car chase last year.
CIB investigators said the incident occurred on Aug. 24 last year. The suspect, surnamed Chen, forced his car on another vehicle driven by a man surnamed Huang and carrying a woman surnamed Liao, driving them off the Wanruei Freeway and down a 10-meter gorge. Liao died at the scene, while Huang lost vision in his left eye.
CIB investigation revealed that earlier that day, Chen had met the pair by a gas station on Chichin Second Rd. and had run into a dispute over Huang cutting into Chen's lane. After the argument, the two cars entered into a high-speed chase, which eventually ended with Chen forcing Huang off the road.
Chen told police he had attended an Amis indigenous tribe celebration earlier that day and had no recollection of the accident because he was drunk at the time.
The CIB said that Liao had made a phone call to police before the accident, saying they were being chased. Chen also called police to notify them about the accident, and called back several times after that to ask if there were any deaths.
Investigators said they initially suspected that it was Huang's wife who had sent Chen after the couple in an attempt to catch him committing adultery. Police records showed that Huang's wife was in the vicinity of the accident when it occurred.
When Huang's wife was questioned by police, she was able to produce proof that at the time of the accident she was attending a company gathering. Others also testified that she was present the entire time and later took a passenger coach back to her home in Taipei.
Huang's wife also passed a lie detector test administered to her by police, ruling her out as a suspect.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=195 2009/3/5 He did it again.
Huang Chi, the "Tarot Boy" who cheated former President Chen Shui-bian last year, cheated again.
The 17-year-old, under "police protection," turned up at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Wednesday, explaining away the fraud charges filed against him.
CIB agents had to let Huang go, because he is a minor under police protection.
The teenager, who posed as a tarot expert with two master's degrees from British universities, induced President Chen to come to his workroom on Roosevelt Road in Taipei on September 14 last year.
Chen, then under investigation for corruption and money laundering, wished to have his future predicted by the Tarot Boy, who was able to get together a couple of lamas to convince the ex-president that he had extra-sensory perception.
Police charged Huang with fraud but a Taipei district court judge couldn't convict him and ordered him to be placed under police protection.
Last January, CIB agents said, Huang posed as a special assistant to Kuomintang lawmaker Cheng Li-wen to demand that a security company fire one of its guards, who wasn't friendly to him.
On January 6, Huang called himself Miss Wang, who is a special assistant to Cheng, and asked the Bureau of Labor Insurance for the personal information of a worker named Lin. He was turned down, because no such information could be supplied.
"The legislator would be very angry," Huang threatened a BLI official.
Then, on March 12, the Tarot Boy produced a letter falsely signed by the Kuomintang legislator to purchase a cellphone, CIB agents said.
Cheng denied Huang was her assistant.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=209 2009/3/31 The head of the Taiwanese crime syndicate known as the "Taoyuan Chen Hou-nan Gang," who has publicly cavorted with celebrities, was among the many arrested yesterday during the National Police Administration's second major "national crime weep" of the year.
According to officials, Lin Chen-wen, also known as "Hsiao Mao" or "Taoyuan Dance King," was arrested and named as one of the chief operators of the "Taoyuan Chen Hou-nan Gang."
Lin has appeared on television with Taiwanese celebrities and once aspired to enter the entertainment industry.
Known to be particularly violent and cruel, Lin had also reportedly caused a person to become a vegetable through severe beatings. He also chopped off the wrist of another man, according to police officials.
Based in Xiaonanmen, the "Taoyuan Chen Hou-nan Gang" allegedly modeled its operations after the gangsters in the Hong Kong movie, "The young and dangerous."
Other arrests include that of Lin Chia-wei, head of a Xiaonanmen gang, Wang wen-hsien of a Pingtung County gang, "Four Seas Gang" head Chen Chih-wei, and Wang Chen-kai of another violent gang, reported the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The four arrested men have a reported total of 36 men working beneath them. Their known criminal acts include operating criminal units, obstructing freedom, making criminal threats, destruction of property, theft, extortion, and other violent activities.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=208 2009/3/31 The China Post news staff
About NT$155 billion was lost to fraud last year, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
National Police Agency (NPA) statistics indicate that the amount of money lost to fraudulent operations totaled about N$12.3 billion.
But because many victims do not report crimes, the CIB said that the NPA statistics are not a reflection of the actual figures, which are closer to NT$155 billion.
The CIB urged the general public to make use of the 110 emergency response hotline or the 165 anti-fraud hotline to report crimes in order to help the NPA compile accurate statistics.
To counteract the effects of fraud from illegal transfers via ATM machines, in 2005 -- when fraud-related crimes were at an all-time high -- the government set the maximum transfer amount at NT$30,000, said the CIB. Another common method employed by fraud rings to dupe unsuspecting victims is by phone, the CIB noted.
The criminals call from telephone numbers registered abroad and pretend to represent certain government agencies or financial institutions to gain victims' trust.
Then they proceed to inform the victims about "unclaimed money" or other false notices, asking the victims personal information or instructing them to conduct a monetary transaction.
In order to reduce the number of fraud cases conducted over the phone, the NPA established a Technology Crime Prevention Center in April 2006 which has successfully deterred and lowered the number of such incidents with the use of criminal technology detection operations in Taiwan as well as China, the CIB noted.
The CIB added that the number of violent crimes and thefts has also experienced a yearly decrease between 2005 and 2008, while the number of criminal cases solved has increased.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=207 2009/3/31 A man has been arrested for allegedly being involved in a money laundering and counterfeiting operation that used ATM machines to exchange doctored bills with real notes, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
Investigators said the man, surnamed Chen, duped four banks in central Taichung over the Chinese New Year holiday break, causing losses that amounted to about NT$700,000 according to initial estimates.
The CIB said the criminal group was able to pass their money undetected by the ATM machines because they altered NT$1,000 bills by using one real side and pasting a color print on the other.
The operation used a fraudulent account to deposit the altered NT$1,000 bills into them, and immediately proceeded to withdraw cash.
CIB and Taichung City police arrested the man in his residence located on the central city's Zhongshan Road in a search operation led by Taichung District Prosecutor Hsieh Wei-cheng.
Officers confiscated fraudulent documents used to open the designated account, mobile phones, as well as amphetamines and other drugs.
Police are conducting further investigation to find out whether there were more suspects involved in the case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=206 2009/3/31 Three Taiwanese suspects were arrested in Bangkok for their alleged involvement in a fraud ring that targeted Thai nationals, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The suspects, surnamed Chen, Cheng and Wang, were nabbed in a joint operation between the CIB's international criminal affairs division and police from Thailand on March 2.
Police confiscated 44 withdrawal slips and 900,000 baht (about US$25,000) in cash. They estimate that the group made over 10 million baht in illegal gains.
Investigators said that the fraud ring employed Thai workers or spouses in Taiwan to call their compatriots in Thailand.
Speaking in their own language, the callers pretended to be representatives from a Thailand tax administration office and told the would-be victims that they were entitled to a tax refund.
The unsuspecting victims were then instructed to transfer a certain amount of money into a specified account that belonged to the ring.
A CIB liaison stationed in Thailand first received a tip from a Thai businessman on Jan. 7, stating that he had received a phone call from a suspected fraud operation. He told the CIB the call came from Taiwan.
The CIB is cooperating with Thai police to find out if there are any more suspects involved in the criminal operation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=205 2009/3/31 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested a group of six suspects yesterday for coercing corporations to make financial payment by threatening to cause troubles at shareholders meetings.
Led by Yang Jung, 46, the group set up a company and a magazine as front to attend the shareholders meetings. They first contacted corporate spokespersons or senior executives to ask for placing advertisements in their publication or supplying the souvenirs to be distributed to shareholders.
When refused, Yang and accomplices threatened to pick and play up the companies' flaws in business or financial operations at the public
meetings to instigate protests from other shareholders.
Some companies, especially those with lackluster financial performance, would bow to the pressure and pay them off to save possible troubles.
The ring has amassed tens of millions of New Taiwan dollars in inappropriate income through such extortion measures in recent years,according to officials at the CIB under the National Policy Agency (NPA).
Such a practice is not uncommon in Taiwan, forcing many companies to schedule their annual shareholders meetings on the same day to reduce the chances of being blackmailed by the so-called "professional" shareholders
who prey on corporations like vultures.
CIB officials urge all business and industry executives to stand up against the troublemakers and report any similar financial threats to the bureau via Tel: (02) 2753-5122.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=204 2009/3/31 Five suspects have been arrested in southern Pingtung in connection to a drug operation that was preparing to profit from the Kenting Spring Scream festival, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
Police confiscated 89 kilograms of ephedrine, a large quantity of cold medicine capsules, methylbenzene, formaldehyde, heating tools, filters, and other drug paraphernalia, as well as amphetamines and a handgun.
After about four months of investigation, the CIB officers from the southern crime fighting center nabbed the suspects in five different locations in a joint operation with police from Pingtung County.
The CIB said the criminal ring was preparing to sell drugs during Kenting's Spring Scream music festival which takes place every year in early April.
The case was forwarded to the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=203 2009/3/30 Fifty suspects have been arrested in connection to a fraud ring in Taipei that cheated banks out of at least NT$30 million in company credit loans, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
Investigators said the fraud operation opened a car wash business in 2003 and after operating for some time and gaining its employees' trust, asked its staff to "help meet sales quotas" by agreeing to allow the company to charge their credit cards. In exchange, the employees were told they would be paid back in checks, the CIB said.
The fraud ring would then take the inflated business revenues to apply for credit loans from banks. After obtaining the loans and making the first few payments, the business would shut down and disappear.
Further investigation uncovered that between July 2001 and March 2005, the fraud ring applied for over NT$225 million in loans.
The case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=202 2009/3/30 Seven suspects were arrested yesterday for their alleged involvement in an amphetamine manufacturing operation in northern Taipei County that exported the drug mainly to Japan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
Police from Taipei City and the CIB's seventh investigation brigade joined forces to hone in on the suspects in Taipei County's Chungho and Hsichih cities.
Three kilograms of amphetamine in various forms and 50 kilograms of cold medicine in powder form, as well as drug-making equipment and other materials were confiscated, said the CIB.
Investigators said the criminal group was a conglomerate formed by a money-counterfeiting ring and a narcotics manufacturing operation.
The drug's main destination was the Japanese market, the CIB said.
The case has been forwarded to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office.
In order to avoid being detected by police, the CIB said that the criminal group maintained a very detailed division of labor, with different locations in Taipei County responsible for performing specific steps of the drug-making process.
The actual locations would also change constantly, added the CIB, who cracked the criminal ring after some six months of investigation.

CAPTION: Amphetamine suspects

CNA
CIB officers escort suspects to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office yesterday. The suspects were arrested for allegedly operating an amphetamine manufacturing operation in Taipei County that exported the drugs mainly to Japan.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=201 2009/3/19 Three suspects have been arrested in connection to a drug trafficking ring in southern Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
CIB officers from the bureau's southern crime fighting center in a joint operation with Kaohsiung police nabbed the male suspects, surnamed Wang, Kuo, and Chen in Kaohsiung City's Gushan and Zhuoying districts.
Police confiscated 8,083 grams of ketamine and 3,482 ecstasy pills worth about NT$10 million in the market, said the CIB.
According to investigators, the southern CIB division first received an anonymous tip last June about a criminal group that was going to smuggle drugs from China and sell them at Kenting's Spring Scream Music Festival.
Held every April, the festival usually attracts young crowds numbering in the tens of thousands to the southern county of Pingtung.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=200 2009/3/19 A man was arrested yesterday in southern Kaohsiung for fraudulent use of President Ma Ying-jeou's name, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said.
According to CIB investigators of the bureau's southern crime fighting division, the suspect, surnamed Chang, used the president's name on promotional material and invitations for an array of activities.
Police said the Presidential Office first received an invitation to a "preparatory meeting for Kaohsiung City retired marines association" in which it mentioned Ma as "honorary president."
Chang continued to use the president's name on printed material for other activities despite repeated warnings by Presidential Office representatives for Chang to stop, said the CIB.
On another occasion, Chang used Ma's name for a "Ma Ying-jeou Friends Society" ecological tour activity in southern Tainan's Chiku Township.
The entire case has been forwarded to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office.
Upon Chang's arrest, CIB officers confiscated banners, membership applications, member lists, invitations, and a roster of activities.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=199 2009/3/19 Four suspects have been arrested in southern Pingtung County in connection with a criminal ring that stole diesel oil from several passenger coaches and railway cars, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The main suspect, a 42-year-old man surnamed Liu, and three others, surnamed Lu, Hsu, and Lin, stole thousands of liters of diesel from several railway cars and passenger coaches in northern and southern Taiwan.
Railway police and the CIB's southern branch crime fighting center joined forces to form a special unit that honed in on the suspects in Hsinglung and Hsintung villages of Pingtung County's Hsinyuan Township.
Upon the arrests, police confiscated NT$31,000 in illegally obtained cash, a vehicle that was used to perpetrate the crimes, stolen diesel, documents with recorded measurements of the amounts pilfered, and oil-extracting tools.
The case has been forwarded to the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office for processing.
Initial investigation indicated that the suspects apparently committed the first theft on Aug. 22 of last year, when they stole some 1,800 liters of diesel from a Taiwan Railway rolling stock in northern Keelung. Months later on Jan. 21, the suspects stole another 3,000 liters of oil from a train in southern Kaohsiung.
Further investigation uncovered that the alleged burglars also pilfered oil from a train parked at Taoyuan's Yuli station last August. They struck twice again this year on Jan. 22 by stealing diesel from 18 passenger coaches in northern Taoyuan's Chuwei station, and another 20 buses stationed at southern Yunlin's Huwei station.
The suspects perpetrated the crimes around midnight after station employees were off-duty, said the CIB. They also targeted remote locations so as to decrease the probability of being caught, investigators added.
Because the unsuspecting drivers of the victimized vehicles would carry on with their routes following the thefts, the buses would inevitably run out of gas in the middle of the road, not only endangering the lives of the passengers onboard but also causing them to miss appointments and work, said the CIB.
Investigators are asking the public to help in gathering more evidence for the case and to come forward if they think they were also victims of the criminal group. Anyone with information or possible evidence is asked to call the CIB's southern crime fighting division at 07-5611962.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=198 2009/3/19 A man has been arrested for allegedly murdering a woman in southern Kaohsiung County and disposing of her body by a bridge, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
The man, surnamed Hsu, has been transferred to the Taiwan Kaohsiung District Court to face charges for the murder of Hu Hui-fang.
The woman's body was discovered inside a black plastic garbage bag on Jan. 22 by two public sanitation workers surnamed Yang and Tsai while they were cleaning Kaohsiung County's Shuangyuan Bridge.
Because police found no form of identification on the body, they initially asked the public to help identify the victim. On Jan. 23 the woman was identified by her boyfriend as Hu.
Hsu used Hu's ATM card to steal money from her bank account on Jan. 20 and 21, according to CIB operatives.
After reviewing video surveillance of over 100 cameras in the area and questioning the deceased woman's family and friends on her whereabouts during the days before her body was discovered, investigators honed in on the 37-year-old Hsu, who has previous robbery and burglary convictions.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=197 2009/3/19 A man and his parents were arrested in connection with a fraud ring that cheated victims out of N$200 million in false CPC Corporation projects, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The man, surnamed Wang, along with his parents, a woman surnamed Hsu, and three others were nabbed in separate locations in Taoyuan, Taichung, and Nantou.
The CIB said the suspects allegedly operated a company that negotiated fake projects by state-run CPC, the leading petroleum, natural gas, and gasoline company in Taiwan.
The suspects told police that they only began the scam after they lost money in bad investments and gambling bets. Wang confessed that his parents were aware of the con operation.
The CIB said at least 10 people were victims of the scam. A woman in Taoyuan was cheated out of nearly NT$56 million over the course of a year.
Victims were tricked into thinking that for every NT$20 million invested, they would receive a yearly return of NT$10 million. If they were still reluctant to invest, they would be told that the investment carried "very low risk" because CPC is a government-owned company, said police.
To gain their victims' trust, the swindling operation provided its own accountant-certified financial reports, as well as CPC documents that were supposedly signed by high-ranking CPC officers.
According to police, the criminal group even set up an office in central Taichung as a "CPC customer service office."
The case has been forwarded to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office for processing.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=189 2009/2/6 A former chicken farm employee who came to own four cinemas in Taipei City in a little over a decade was arrested yesterday for fraud, falsifying documents, infidelity, and illegal possession of confidential information, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The man, surnamed Wu, was taken in at his posh residence in the upscale Xinyi District, along with his female accountant, surnamed Liao. CIB officers said they confiscated three large boxes of investment documents, real estate contracts obtained through fraud, and confidential bank documentation.
Police also found over NT$1.1 million worth of cash in different currencies and immigration documents, which is probable evidence of Wu's intentions to flee the country.
According to the CIB, Wu was able to build his entertainment empire from NT$1.6 billion he defrauded from a woman who came from a well-to-do Taipei family. Wu, who was married at the time, gained the woman's trust by entering into a romantic relationship with her.
Wu's family ran a chicken farm in Taoyuan, where he helped out after he came back from studying abroad, said the CIB.

He eventually found a job at a cinema in the Ximending area of Taipei, and shortly afterwards he met the woman that was to be his first victim.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=188 2009/2/3 Four suspects, including a foreign bride, have been arrested in connection to a criminal ring that specialized in robbing stores run by foreign workers, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
Chen Yung-fu, Yang Chung-hsien, as well as Liu Chih-chung and his Thai wife Liu Kai-ni, were nabbed by CIB operatives Wednesday for robbing over 10 stores since last September.
According to investigators, the suspects operated in industrial areas of northern Taipei, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, where they assaulted stores that sold items mostly from Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and were run by foreign workers.
The CIB said the gang made away with anywhere from NT$100,000 to NT$700,000 at a time. They targeted store clerks who were mostly female foreign workers, taking advantage of Liu Kai-ni's connections with the foreign worker community to hone in on the victims, said the CIB.
If the store clerks put up resistance, they would be threatened with knives. One of the victims had to receive more than 10 stitches after she was stabbed on her arm during a robbery, according to investigators.
Police said the Lius ran a store located in Taipei County that catered to foreign workers themselves, so they were familiar with the way the businesses operated.
In one case, a female foreign worker who collected NT$250,000 in payment from the Lius was robbed of the money as she was riding away on her scooter by Chen and Yang, who staged a fake accident to perpetrate the crime. The suspects also snatched another NT$500,000 that the victim had collected earlier that day.
Police said the criminal group took advantage of the fact that the foreign workers were not aware of how to report crimes to police.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=194 2009/2/26
A U.S. man taken into custody in Taipei City by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) for allegedly molesting children in his native country has been sent to the Sanhsia detention center for foreigners, local media reported yesterday.
Mark Lee Kaczmarczyk, 58, was nabbed by CIB operatives Sunday evening in a rented apartment located in the Dunhua S. Rd.

Sec. 1 area of Taipei City.
Lai Ching-yuan, head of the CIB's International Criminal Affairs Division (ICAD), said the suspect arrived in Taiwan Jan. 8 on a tourist visa. It was the first time the suspect had visited Taiwan, and he overstayed his visa by two weeks, Lai noted.
Upon his arrest, the suspect kept saying that he "really liked Taiwan" and wanted to take up long-term residence here, reported the United Evening News.
The CIB notified the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the local unofficial U.S. embassy, which canceled the suspect's passport, added Lai. He has been sent to Taipei County's Sanhsia detention center for foreigners while he awaits repatriation in the next few days, said the local daily.
According to the CIB, the suspect is wanted in the state of California for allegedly molesting six children at a daycare center that he operated.
After over an hour of questioning, the CIB said it concluded that the suspect had not committed any crimes while in Taiwan.
The local daily reported that during his stay, the suspect often visited a female staff member at a store in the vicinity of his rented apartment. He told her he had experience running infant daycare centers and had plans to teach English in Taiwan at a cram school.
A female undercover CIB agent, Yen Shu-yi, learned about Lee's whereabouts by pretending to be the store clerk's friend and chatting with him.
The suspect has two children of his own, according to the local newspaper.
Police said the U.S. citizen was facing charges of child molesting with a possible jail term of 48 years when he fled to Taiwan.
The CIB agents first learned about the U.S. fugitive from a notice from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), seeking assistance to take the suspect into custody.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=193 2009/2/18 The China Post
Have you seen or read Totoro by Shun Miyazaki?
If you do, you will find an all-but-exact repetition in Taichung of two sibling children searching for their father in the hospital after they got lost on the way to a visit with him.
Like in the episode of a cultural icon by the popular Japanese cartoonist, a fourth grader and her kid brother got lost on their way to a neighborhood hospital where their stroke-stricken father was receiving treatment for scalding.
Their father, known only as Peng, has to take care of his two children alone after his Vietnamese-born wife divorced him and returned to Saigon nine years ago.
Peng suffered a minor stroke in 2006. He recovered, with the right side of his body partially paralyzed.
On Tuesday night, the father gave cup noodles to the children for supper. Some bread, crackers and candy were available, too.
But Peng scalded himself, while handing a cup of boiling-hot noodles to his third grader son with his left hand. He tripped and fell, splashing hot water over his crotch and left thigh.
The father was taken to a nearby hospital, leaving the two scared kids at home alone.
Both children had to go to school on Wednesday. It was the first day of school. They were up very early in the morning, and decided to go together to visit their father before going to school.
Carrying the leftover bread and crackers, the siblings left home early so that they might have enough time to see their father before going to school. They agreed the first thing they would do upon reaching school was to ask for a leave of absence for the day, to return to the hospital to keep their father company.
Off they went, each on a bicycle.
The trouble was that they did not know which hospital their father was staying in.
All they could do was to ask passers-by whether there were hospitals somewhere near their home.
Round and round the neighborhood they went in search of the hospital where their father was being treated. And the boy fell off his bike, bruising his forehead.
He cried. His sister got him to a street corner convenience store shortly before 9:30 a.m.
A shopkeeper called for police help.
Kind officers came to their rescue. A squad car took them aboard.
It started a cruise.
This time, the children got lucky. At the second hospital the patrol car stopped, they found their father.
He was overcome with the love his kids were trying to extend. But he told them to go back to school with the two officers who took them to the hospital.
They obeyed, of course.
It was almost noon. So the officers took the two children from school to their downtown Taichung precinct.
A kind neighbor was called to the precinct to take the lost and found children back to their home.
The police officers refused to be identified.
Doctors at the Department of Health Hospital in Taichung said yesterday Peng had to be operated on, but the surgery would be free.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=192 2009/2/18 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) has detained a male U.S. citizen in Taipei for a suspected child molesting committed in the United States.
CIB agents said the alleged child molester, Mark Lee Kaczmarczyk, was picked up on Section One of Dunhua South Road in Taipei City yesterday evening.
The suspect, aged around 58 with a height of 182 centimeters and a weight of 90 kilograms, surrendered without resistance.
The agents took action on a notice from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seeking assistance to take the suspect into custody.
Suspect Kaczmarczyk had been put on a wanted list in the U.S. for allegedly molesting several children. Records showed that the suspect entered Taiwan on a tourist visa on Jan. 8.
Both the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the FBI helped with the investigation.
CIB officials said they will investigate whether the suspect was involved in any molesting cases in Taiwan.
There were cases in the past involving U.S. fugitives hiding in Taiwan and disguising as English-language teachers who were eventually arrested by the police and deported.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=191 2009/2/18 Over 300 suspects were arrested in connection with an employment agency that exploited foreign workers in Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The primary suspect, surnamed Lin, along with 311 others were nabbed after nearly a year of investigation. The agency in question operated 14 branches throughout Taiwan.
The agency would only pay the workers NT$1,800 for their first month of work, NT$3,500 each for the second to sixth months, and NT$5,430 monthly thereafter until the 18th month, pocketing the remainder of the workers' wages, said police.
The CIB's International Criminal Affairs Division (ICAD) said the agency would attract local customers by charging them very low fees, and bring foreign workers from Indonesia.
Once the workers were in Taiwan, they would be forced to sign away NT$200,000 in "administrative fees" related to processing their paperwork. If they refused the agreement, the agency threatened to send "people" to harm their families back in Indonesia.
According to the CIB, the employment agency signed on 5,907 foreign workers since 2005. Police estimated that the illegal operation had made some NT$700 million from exploiting workers.
The ICAD was tipped off on the criminal ring last March by several local employers who heard about the agency's operations from the workers.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=190 2009/2/10 CIB spokesman said that since the beginning of the year, the con ring has swindled close to NT$100 million from over 500 victims.
The gang, headed by a man surnamed Chen, usually launched fake online auctions to hook victims, and then swindled money from them in various ways, such as making false promises to introduce beautiful girls to them for sex trade.
The con ring also ran ads to collect personal bank accounts on a leasing basis, and then used the surrogate accounts to apply for bank loans.By this con operation, one of the major victims suffered a debt of over NT$4 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=245 2009/12/9 Officers ferreted out large quantity of loots and evidence, including computers, debit cards and account books at the spot on Dec. 15 and shockingly found that one of the eight suspects was a national judo champion. Despite having four titles under his belt, Lu Huang-wei was unable to find a job and ended up a swindler. The syndicate gained at least NT$5 million per month. Police primarily estimated at least one hundred netizens have fell prey during their two years of conning.
The suspects created numerous accounts at renowned auction Web sites such as Yahoo, selling 3C and other daily necessities on Web and lying to the bidders that they had sent out the goods, asking bidders to remit money to dummy accounts.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=251 2009/12/18 A Taiwanese entrepreneur who worked in China, surnamed Teng, 35, went to Thailand on a business trip in Nov. 24 with family members, including his mother, wife and two children, aged seven and nine. Three days after the Teng family arrived there, four local policemen, later identified as fake, got in their way, claiming that something was wrong with their passports before forcing them into a car.
The gang phoned Teng's father back in Taiwan, requiring him to remit NT$30 million to them, first to a Hong Kong and then to a Thailand's bank account. The desperate family immediately informed the CIB. The CIB joined force with Thailand police and Singapore police attacking the suspects’ hide out at 4 a.m. Monday. Officers successfully arrested six suspects and rescued Teng and his family in addition to another Taiwanese victim, surnamed Pan, who was also kidnapped.The police also rescued Teng's wife in Singapore, where she was forced to remit US$424,000 to the criminals.
Local policeman ferreted out a computer and 10 cell phones, which the suspects used to commit crimes, and 100,000 Thai Baht at the scene.
The six suspects, including two Taiwanese, named Chang Chia-lun and Chen Chih-wen, will be soon sent to Taiwan for interrogation, while officials are further investigating this case in search of other possible key suspects.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=250 2009/12/18 Lin Ping-feng, the main suspect and his subordinates had been extorting money from victims with violence and harassment. Lin was reported to have threatened the famous Taiwanese female singer Jiang Hui for a large sum of money at the beginning of this year.
In addition, Lin and other gang members also extorted money from technology companies in Taoyuan area with guns and forced the victims to take naked pictures. They purchased a batch of electronic products from those companies, sold them to China and claimed the products were "blemished" as to demand for compensation.
Lin constantly intimidated people by pulling the trigger and threatened to kill them, police said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=249 2009/12/18 After chasing the yacht for hours, police successfully tracked down the boat and found a total of 65 sacks of ketamine, each weighing around 1 kilogram, and 150 kilograms of ketamine in raw materials on the ship, valued at more than NT$1 billion.
Whether the boat company was involved in the smuggling is still under investigation as of yesterday.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=248 2009/12/11 When the shipment of these frozen oysters, totaling 165 tons and estimated to have a value of NT$24 million, was opened for inspection, a strong odor was detected. Due to their pale color and imperceptible manufactured date, authorities were concerned that these illegal oysters contained bacteria or other harmful materials, such as heavy metal, sending them to the Council of Agriculture for examination immediately, and slated for destruction.
The large quantities of trafficked oysters from China in recent years have severely influenced Taiwan’s local aquaculture, CIB said. Police got tipped off, saying that a smuggling ring, with suspect Chen as the leader, gained huge profits by selling China’s illegal oysters to Taiwan, often passed through a third country first.
The alleged four suspects bought those oysters in China with a price of NT$120 per kilograms, and sold them to Taiwan’s wholesalers, earning a profit of NT$20 to NT$40 per kilogram, CIB added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=247 2009/12/11 The ring was found to have made NT$100 million in illicit gains by buying a sizable volume of computer, communication and consumer electronic products using fake credit cards and selling them at 70 percent of their normal market value, according to Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officials.
The fraud syndicate, with a suspect named Liao as the leader, first obtained the numbers, materials and personal information for making counterfeit credit cards in Malaysia, and then sent the blank cards back to Taiwan, police said. Along with the other four suspects, Liao reportedly successfully manufactured fraud cards, police added.
The suspects used numerous machines at house to bronze and print cards; once they finished making the fake cards, they used the cards to pay for expensive items at department stores, shopping malls and boutiques. The syndicate then resold these items and gained huge profits, making an estimated profit of nearly NT$1 billion, police said.
To confuse local merchants, the counterfeit cards’ appearance was based on those from foreign banks. The amount of a single charge on credit card could go from hundreds of thousand dollars to NT$1 million. According to police, since the risk and cost are higher in making fake credit cards, this type of fraud has rarely been seen in Taiwan for the last six years.
After half a year tracking down the syndicate, the Criminal Investigation Bureau, working with Taoyuan County police and Taipei County police, successfully arrested these notorious fraudsters, sending them to Banciao District Prosecutor's Office.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=246 2009/12/11 The suspect, surnamed Ruan, 29, opened three stores selling pirated designer T-shirts, sneakers and clothes a year ago in Wufenpu. While the genuine clothes cost at least NT$5,000 each piece, Ruan's low-priced knockoffs appealed to many young people, earning him sales of approximately NT$10 million.
The CIB found more than fifteen thousand pieces of pirated clothes on the spot, valued at tens of millions of dollars, and arrested Ruan for intellectual property rights violation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=241 2009/11/5 The cooperative efforts with Chinese law enforcement authorities resulted in the capture of the seventeen suspects in Taiwan and seven in China, CIB officials said. The crime ring had already been cracked down on by Taiwanese police in February.
The seventeen suspects in Taiwan were scattered and arrested separately in Taipei, Miaoli, Taichung, Changhua and Kaohsiung by CIB officers on Thursday. They are currently under investigation at the Taichung Prosecutors Office.
On top of acts of fraud, the suspects -- married couples among them -- are accused of smuggling Chinese women onto the island in order to join the ring's cross-strait scams.
Taiwan police raided the homes of the fraud ring members and seized incriminating evidence including cash, computers and IP-sharing routers. The most damning evidence were the lists of swindled victims, which showed some living in Taiwan and others from Chinese provinces such as Fujian, Zhejian, Guangdong, Guangxi and Liaoning.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=244 2009/11/13 According to CIB agents, the two groups, led by "A-Ping" and "A-Chun," routinely met in Danshui Township in Taipei County and Taichung City respectively. The fraud ring's mode of operation was to use online telecommunication and call up unsuspecting Chinese victims, impersonating an automated voice message claiming that the person was behind with phone bill payment. They then provided a number to call and pay the bill.
If the victim called back, he or she would end up speaking to a "call operator" who would transfer the call to a man impersonating a Chinese public security official, who would request the victims' account numbers and addresses and ask them to send money straight into a fraudulent account.
The bureau identified the 13-year-old girl as the girlfriend of a 19-year-old suspect. Officials said that the young teen played the role of the "call operator" that directed the phone calls to bigger "heavyweights."]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=243 2009/11/13 The student told police that he could break into the accounts of members of the Wretch and Pchome photo sharing sites in just one minute.
The student reportedly posted an online advertisement offering to crack users' passwords in exchange for NT$4,000 or NT$4,200.
Users of the popular online albums should remove their private photos from the Web site to prevent them from being stolen or used on pornography sites, Criminal Investigation Bureau officer Li His-he said. Police are still investigating the case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=242 2009/11/13 No one had fallen victim to the scheme, and police are still investigating the case, the CIB Investigator Lin Yi-Chen told The China Post
72-year-old suspect Yu Hsien-long, and his female accomplice Wu Yue-Chin, 62, both from Taipei, were found attempting to sell the counterfeit bills, charging US$30 for a fake US$100 bill.
Investigators found 509 counterfeit U.S. $100 bills, 89 counterfeit Japanese 10,000 yuan bills and 250 counterfeit U.S. bonds in Yu's home in Wanhua District in addition to 649 counterfeit U.S. $100 bills in Wu's home in Xinyi District.
When searching the suspects' homes, police also found a fake documentary about how the KMT fortune was supposedly unearthed in China. The blurry footage was filmed to deceive buyers of the fake bills, police investigator Lin said.
The falsified footage had not yet been publicized. Authorities suspect that a key suspect, as well as the device used to print the counterfeit currency could be in China
The CIB and Chinese law enforcement will jointly investigate the case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=234 2009/10/6 The trio was believed to have been trafficking marijuana in nightclubs in Chiayi and Taipei, Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers were cited as saying.
Officers explained that the scent of marijuana permeated their home at the time of the raid, particularly from the altar and accompanying table, where they uncovered over 300 grams of dried marijuana flowers, reported NowNews.
Prior to the bust, the group maintained they were observing religious practices and could not allow police into their residence.
Officers said one of the men, surnamed Yeh, and the woman, surnamed Bai, have been known to acquaintances as pious followers of a religious faith who remained at home during the day.
Yeh and Bai admitted to the possession and use of the drug, while their comrade claimed to have used the drug to help alleviate symptoms of depression and tumor, the report said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=240 2009/10/30 The "Card Royal -- second generation" sold at online shops is a wireless network device claiming to provide free access to the Internet. It looks like a mouse, with a long antenna, and is regularly priced slightly above NT$1,000.
How can any legitimate network provide unlimited free connection? The answer is none. The trick is to steal Internet service.
The device is able to break into encrypted wireless networks in the nearby area, giving users not only "free" Internet access, but unhindered passage to private areas and can even be used in stealing other people's private information.
CIB investigator Shih Bing-cheng said, "This device targets the more basic networks such as WET to break through."
In seven minutes, the device could break through a wireless LAN within a kilometer square to provide users free links to the networks. The targeted network, however, would slow down considerably with all the additional users.
The CIB emphasized that the related law violations are severe and people should not challenge the law.
Investigators added that it is illegal for the sellers of the device to claim to provide free access to the Internet. If captured, makers of the device can be sentenced up to five years in jail while buyers and users of this device would receive up to five years in jail and a fine up to NT$1.5 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=239 2009/10/21 The kidnappers refused to surrender as the authorities launched the rescue operation for the 40-year-old woman held captive in a remote mountain location, said Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
According to the CIB's Foreign Affairs Squad, the family of the woman, surnamed Kao, was told to pay the ransom in order for police to trace the captors' whereabouts.
The woman, who had been living in the Southeast Asian country for over 20 years to run a toilet paper business, was abducted by four gunmen on Oct. 8 on her way to work, said a Central News Agency (CNA) report.
The kidnappers originally demanded 20 million Philippine pesos (NT$13.9 million).
The sum was subsequently negotiated down to three million Philippine pesos.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=238 2009/10/21 Those that violate the new amendment to the Animal Husbandry Act, allowing dead pigs and poultry to be rendered for human consumption would be subject to fines between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000, said a Central News Agency (CNA) report.
The amendment also noted that carcasses or viscera that were not inspected shall not be cut, processed, transported, stored or sold for human consumption or with the attempt to provide it for human consumption, said the report.
Offenders could be subject to fines between NT$50,000 and NT$250,000, the report added.
Perpetrators of offenses shown to lead to health hazards could also be sentenced to a maximum of one year in prison or penalized a maximum fine of NT$100,000, said the CNA.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=237 2009/10/20 Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers believe that the operation had the capacity to churn out hundreds of millions of NT dollars worth of amphetamines every month, said the United Evening News.
The factory operated out of three outposts in remote locations — two in Taipei City that would begin conversion of raw materials into amphetamines, and another in Taipei County that would complete manufacturing of the drug, wrote the paper.
The drug gang used a car repair shop as cover for its laboratory complete with sophisticated appliances, officers were cited as saying.
Unlike previous seizures, the factory used raw ingredient sourced from nasal decongestant, which is then refined with other ingredients to enhance the active ingredient, said the report.
Officers noted that the suspects had plans to dissolve the venture in the middle of October.
This marked the second large crack-down on organized crime for the CIB in the last two weeks.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=236 2009/10/20 The criminals included a 31-year-old man, Lin Hsuan-yu, the leader of the group, and his fellow townsman, Chang Han-yang. Armed with guns, they managed to steal NT$3.1 million while security guards were replenishing the ATM, and made their getaway in a stolen vehicle, said the officials.
After the heist, Lin and Chang rendezvoused with Lin’s girlfriend, Wu Chia-lin, and the other accomplice, Yang Yu-lin, in a rented house. They split after dividing the loot.
The CIB, cooperating with Taichung police, made their search from nearby surveillance camera footage and located their hiding places. The police captured Lin, Chang and Wu in Tainan first, and later arrested Yang in Keelung.
Upon further investigation, the CIB also found that the four had robbed NT$2,000 from another convenience store on August 31 in Taichung.
According to the police, Lin owed a huge amount of gambling debt and was dunned by his creditors. Law enforcement said that the robbery committed by Lin was well-planned and will continue to investigate if the group had been involved in other cases.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=235 2009/10/20 An unemployed worker was arrested in Taipei for extortion yesterday, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
CIB agents took Huang Sung-ching of Taipei , 36, under custody for demanding NT$1.5 million eac from three soft drinks makers.
Huang injected hydrochloric acid into a bottle of soft drinks and sent it together with a letter of extortion to each of the three makers by parcel post, CIB agents said.
He named himself "Xuxiao" in the extortion letter, agents added.
The letters were computer-written.
Agents said the three makers reported the attempted extortion on Dec. 19, last Wednesday and Monday.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=186 2009/1/8 Deputy Commissioner Kao Cheng-sheng of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) died of liver cancer at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, at the age of 50, according to CIB.
CIB officials said that Kao was diagnosed with liver cancer three years ago, and had been hospitalized for medical treatment for many times. Three weeks ago, he was hospitalized again, but his condition suffered a serious deterioration and he finally passed away.
The officials said that knowing that his days were numbered, Kao suddenly called on his classmates at the Taipei Police College to hold a gathering and birthday party at the college in mid-December.
When the party was held on Dec. 19, more than 100 of his classmates attended the party, including former commissioner Hou Yu-ih of the National Police Agency, to cheer up and pray for Kao.
CIB officials said Kao had done a good job in establishing significant social order promotion policies and instilling cooperation with the mainland in cracking down on criminals.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=185 2009/1/8 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested four men who tricked local women into becoming sex workers in Japan.
The main suspect, surnamed Wang, and three others were nabbed by police officers in a joint operation between police from Taipei and Kaohsiung cities.
The men were arrested on human trafficking charges. If convicted, they could face at least 10 years in prison and fines of up to NT$10 million.
Police from Japan cooperated with the CIB in sending the victims back to Taiwan.
According to the CIB, the men placed ads in local papers pretending to be looking for service staff to work at restaurants in Japan.
When the unsuspecting victims were flown to Japan, however, they were told that the restaurants didn't need any more staff members, but instead they had vacancies at nightclubs. The women were then forced into prostitution at the establishments.
The CIB was able to hone in on the suspects using testimony from victims who escaped from the prostitution joints and made it back to Taiwan.
One of the victims told the CIB that she was tricked by the men, who took her to a night establishment in Japan's Chiba County where she was forced to sell her body.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=187 2009/1/22 Five people have been arrested for allegedly running a pyramid scheme to con various people out of more than NT$600 million over the past two years, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) reported yesterday.
The prime suspect, surnamed Yang, set up seven false companies to solicit investors under the pyramid scheme, the CIB said.
The suspects chiefly targeted well-to-do middle-age people, one of whom was cheated out of more than NT$20 million, the CIB said.
The victims reported to police after they failed to receive the bonuses the suspects promised them.
Yang and four other suspects were nabbed separately in Taipei, Panchiao, and Taoyuan, the CIB revealed. They have been turned over to prosecutors for further investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=176 2008/9/20 Taiwan's first robbery of a bullet train station car park was cracked Sunday, the Criminal Investigation Bureauannounced yesterday.
One suspect was arrested for overpowering a car park manager at Tsoying at gunpoint on August 25, a CIB spokesman said. His collaborator is still at large.
They were identified only by their family name of Hung. The spokesman didn't say whether they were related,however.
The pair, both residents of Taipei, drove 300 kilometers south to rob the car park manager in broad daylight.
"It happened at 2 p.m. and the keeper was even tied up, and the pair got away with cash," the spokesman said.
CIB agents raided the suspect's Taipei home while Typhoon Sinlaku was hitting Taiwan.
The suspect confessed to the crime, the spokesman said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=175 2008/9/20 Three suspects in a recent aggravated assault against a businessperson from Changhua County were arrested in Kaohsiung on Tuesday, the Crimal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
A man, surnamed Ssu, and two brothers, surnamed Wang, were reportedly arrested following the joint efforts of police officers from Changhua and Nantou Counties.
The three suspects and a fourth accomplice, named Wang Chun-wei, allegedly aimed an M16 rifle at a man, surnamed Chen, in early August in Changhua City, police said. They then shot Chen twice in the foot before running off.
Wang Chun-wei still remains at large, police added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=174 2008/9/15 A man has been arrested in Taipei for allegedly running a house rental scam, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) reported yesterday.
According to the CIB, the suspect, surnamed Hsueh, 36, got an employment with a real estate agency and made copies of clients' keys and deeds.
He then ran house rental advertisements on the Internet, and managed to use the keys and deeds to convince victims he was the owner of the property they were renting. After receiving down payments, the suspect disappeared.
The CIB did not reveal the number of people falling prey to his scam.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=173 2008/9/15 An illicit money-lending operation was uncovered yesterday, leading to the arrests of ring leader Shen Shi-chung and four accomplices, according to the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The operation, which used a Taipei City pub as front, was headed by the so-called "Mister You" who collected collateral, identification documents, bank books, and personal stamps from each borrower. "Mister You" also requested borrowers to leave their names, telephone numbers and addresses of family members.
The first ten days' interest was deducted from the gross sum to the borrower, and interest thereafter was recalculated every ten days, said the CIB.
The CIB continued that methods of coercion included verbal harrassment, spraypaint vandalism, and the use of superglue in the keyholes of the borrowers' homes. In some cases, Shen and others turned to the borrower's family. The mother of one borrower was coerced into mortgaging her home and ultimately was forced to move out, said the CIB.
Intelligence on the lenders' identities had been difficult to secure as the operation outsourced cell-phone and personal interaction to hired outsiders. The CIB case unit secured the data through cross-checking and collaboration with the Banciao, Danshui, and Luzhou police substations.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=172 2008/9/1 Chunghua County police and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) have been trying to track down suspected gunman Hsiao Bo-ren, as a search of his girlfriend's residence came up empty.
Hsiao is under investigation for opening fire Thursday against two Tian-jhong Station police officers, Hsiao Rui-neng and Liu Fu-hsing, inflicting serious injury. Both are in critical condition.
A search of the Tian-jhong and She-tou districts has been unsuccessful. Suspect Hsiao is well-known by locals and is unlikely to return, said police.
The unit has investigated sites frequented by Hsiao's close relations and acquaintances.
Police sources said Hsiao is a familiar face to most local officers, having had numerous run-ins with the law through drug-related activities and firearm possession. Officers Hsiao and Liu, notified of a possible car theft, had questioned the suspect Hsiao when they noticed him in a BMW during their early morning rounds.
It is unclear why the suspect chose to shoot the officers rather than drive away, police continued.
Both officers sustained injuries to the head and body, according to local media.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=171 2008/9/1 A special team of Kaohsiung City police and the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested members of a heroin-based crime ring yesterday, according to the CIB.
Among the confiscated goods were air rifles, cash and 442.8 kilograms of heroin worth an estimated NT$122,000. The ring leader, surnamed Lee, and three others are pending prosecution at the Kaohsiung District Prosecutor's Office.
Based on intelligence from days of urveillance, the special unit apprehended the ring as members conducted an exchange at a Kaohsiung City park.
The ring was operating in a high-rise arehouse on the boundary of Kaohsiung city and county, said police officials.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=170 2008/9/1 Five members of the United Bamboo gang, the largest organized crime organization in Taiwan, were arrested Wednesday for allegedly forcing someone to sign a contract agreeing to hand over ownership of large trucks intended to transport sand and stone, without receiving payment, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The suspects were also arrested for profiting from violently demanding unreasonably high interest rates from those they lent money to, said the CIB.
Police from multiple branches collaborated in an organized crime unit to pursue the suspects in the Taichung and Taoyuan areas.
The suspects, along with their ring leader, Weng Sheng-wen, reportedly had been threatening the truck owner since last April, and were carrying modified guns and ketamine on them when they were caught.
Weng knew that he had been targeted by police and hid in China purposely before the presidential inauguration, the period during which the police usually crack down on crime.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=166 2008/8/6 A dead Taiwanese businessman was found in a gas barrel in Pingtung County, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), who used a powerful magnet to find it.
Police arrested the suspect Sun Wei-lung on Sunday. Sun, who allegedly murdered Chang Tuz-lung, confessed that he had strangled Chang with a rope until his victim was dead. Sun tricked Chang into coming to Kaohsiung by suggesting that he wanted to sign a contract with him; however, Chang was killed on the way back to his hotel.
Sun put Chang's body in a 50 gallon barrel, poured cement into the barrel and sealed it. Sun then drove a car to abandon the barrel in Linbian Village. The police suspected the perpetrator was Sun because he coveted the victim's stock equity, which is worth tens of millions NT dollars.
Chang had an office in Sungshan District in Taipei, investing in development of lands in the Philippines. His family found Chang missing on April 15, and soon reported to the police.
After investigating the phone records of the victim, the police focused on Sun. However, when Sun read the newspaper and knew that the police had been looking into the case, he took a plane to China. He was caught at Tainan airport when Typhoon Fung-Wong hit Taiwan.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=165 2008/8/6
The National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) recently apprehended some key members of Taiwan's largest "sokaiya" ring, the United Evening News reported yesterday.
The crooks successfully extorted millions from top Taiwanese companies in recent years, the newspaper said, without further information.
Sokaiya -- also called corporate racketeers -- are organized criminals who manage to extort huge sums of money from large public firms listed on the local stock exchange.
The blackmailers are not unique to Japan, where they often associate with the yakuza or local mafia. Since the 1990s, Taiwan's sokaiya have also threatened to publicly humiliate companies and their management during their annual meetings.
Basically, sokaiya operate by representing large shareholders or by purchasing enough shares of a company's stock to entitle them to attend the annual corporate shareholders' meeting.
Then, they usually contact a spokesperson of the corporation who is responsible for arranging the discussions during the shareholders' meeting, threatening to disrupt and prolong the meeting with various allegations of illegal or unethical corporate behavior. They further ask the company's management to publish justificatory statements in various newspapers at great expenses.
Faced with such threats, the official allegedly makes large payments to the gangsters, hoping to ensure that the annual meeting will go quickly and smoothly.
The worrisome sokaiya phenomenon pushed 637 publicly listed Taiwanese companies to hold their annual meeting on the same date last June to take no risks, the newspaper said. Also, the newspaper pointed that the recently busted racketeers were not the only ones to operate a sokaiya ring.
According to the report, CIB officers have their eyes on two other crooks, surnamed Huang and Liang, who allegedly passed themselves off as finance or economic government officials so as to contact with companies' spokespersons for advertisement fees amounting to up to NT$2 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=164 2008/8/4 Teaming up with local police force, agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) rounded up 15 members of two gangs responsible for a series of violent criminal activities in northern Taoyuan and Hsinchu counties yesterday.
Officials at the CIB under the National Police Agency (NPA) said the case showed a new trend that more of the different criminal syndicates in Taiwan tend to suspend their traditional fighting for turfs for joint exploitation during the period of a general business slowdown on the island.
The 15 suspects turned over to prosecutors for further investigation belong to the Four-Sea Gang and Sun Gang.
More than 100 police officers took part in the operation, which included the searching of apartments at various sites.
The evidence gathered included modified handguns, knives, masks, records of extended loans bearing unreasonably high interest rates, and ledgers of gambling based on the outcomes of local professional baseball games.
According to CIB officials, the gangsters had coerced owners of some entertainment establishments for protection fees.
When the businesspeople refused to oblige, members of the group would go to their places to consume foods and drinks but make no payment. The gangsters would also take away surveillance cameras machines to destroy the evidence. They sometimes even fired warning shots, according to victims.
The mobsters of the rings also worked together to extort money from contractors engaged in the moving and transporting of soil excavated from construction site. The blackmail and extortion would have caused serious delay in the progress of some large construction projects had the gangs not have been crushed, said CIB officials.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=169 2008/8/20
A special unit in collaboration with Tainan County and City police secured a suspected gang leader and accomplices yesterday, along with the operation's receipts and weaponry, reported the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). The case pends at the Tainan District Prosecutor's Office.
The group, led by the suspect surnamed Chung, is under investigation by court official Chen Min-jing for long-standing counts of organized crime, including drug trafficking, illegal money-lending, violence and extortion of local businesses for protection money.
Police surveillance revealed that Chung's activities included the torture and confinement of victims in animal cages.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=168 2008/8/13
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) won court permission yesterday to place Hsieh Kuo-hsiung, a suspect allegedly involved in the murder of a businessman and sealing his body in a gasoline barrel in southern Taiwan, into custody for further investigation.
Hsieh turned himself in on Saturday after the body of Chang Tze-neng, the victim, and the barrel was located in a river of Linbian in southern Pingtung County.
He denied that he was involved in the murder of Chang, claiming he had not contacted him for almost a year.
Hsieh also said he was abroad when the murder took place and he did not orchestrate the crime through overseas calls from the Philippines where he had been staying.
But the communication records gathered by the CIB show that the two had engaged in frequent contact through the phone as late as a few months ago.
Hsieh decided to surrender himself to the police to present his side of the story after the arrest of Sun Wei-lung, the first suspect nabbed in the case.
Sun also denied any involvement, but he gave the CIB the names of Hsieh, businesswoman Wang Jin-lien and two of her nephews.
Wang and her nephews are presently staying in the Philippines and the CIB have contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the International Police Organization to track down the trio.
Hsieh told CIB agents that both he and Wang are shareholders in a mining company set up by Chang in the Philippines.
But the relations of their partnership turned sour after Hsieh consistently claimed that the company did not generate any profits for years.
Hsieh, who retired from the National Security Bureau with a rank of major, said he had known the victim for nearly 10 years.
During the five-hour questioning session, Hsieh admitted that he did helped Wang to persuade Sun to "teach Chang a lesson" but never asked anyone to kill the businessman.
In order to get to the bottom of the brutal murder case, CIB agents told the Kaohsiung District Court that they had to detain Hsieh to continue the probe.
The court gave its approval in the early morning.
Police started investigating the case after receiving a report from Chang's family on April 22 after losing contact.
Chang told the family earlier he departed from Taipei on April 15 for Kaohsiung for talks with Wang and her relatives for possible infusion of new capital into the mining company.
The CIB detained suspect Sun on July 27 and Sun told the investigators the location where Chang's body and the 50-gallon gasoline barrel sealed with cement were dumped.
Sun insisted that he only drove a car to abandon the barrel in a river and played no part in killing the businessman.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=167 2008/8/11 Agents from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) have arrested four suspects who used a modern electronic shopping operation to cheat more than NT$10 million out of victims in the past eight months.
CIB investigators detained three men and one woman between ages 27 and 34 after completing a probe into the scam, along with police officers from the Xinyi branch of the Taipei Police Department.
The four were arrested at various sites of Sanxia, Shulin and Tucheng in Taipei

County.
Starting from October 2007, the four teamed up to sell vouchers for retailing outlets like department stores and convenience stores at a 9 percent discount.
They placed advertisements on major e-shopping Web sites on the Internet.
What they offered included vouchers for popular department stores like Sogo Pacific and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi as well for discount chain stores like Carrefour and RT-Mart.
They also provided gift coupons for convenience stores, including 7-Eleven and FamilyMart chains, fuel coupons for petroleum companies and freeway toll fee tickets.
The 9 percent discount enabled them to lure a growing number of customers into the online marketing operation, said CIB officials.
But the same group of customers also simultaneously disguised themselves as different buyers of coupons and vouchers using different names.
They placed ads with the same Web-based shops, saying they were willing to make payments up to 95 percent of the original prices.
Some customers who purchased the vouchers earlier turned themselves into sellers in order to reap an instant profit of 4 percent.
The members of the ring started with legitimate deals in initial transactions to earn the trust of the customers. But later, they stopped delivering the products purchased by customers after receiving the payment.
It was difficult for the victims to track down the perpetrators because the transactions mainly took place in the cyberspace.
CIB officials said the four admitted that they managed to rake in illegal profits exceeding NT$10 million during the eight-month period.
The group came under investigation after some victims reported the case to police.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=163 2008/7/24 Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested two men in the southern port city of Kaohsiung yesterday for using counterfeit Chinese yuan while posing as tourists from the mainland.
The two con artists, surnamed Chen and Yang, made small purchases with the counterfeit bills at tourist attractions around Taiwan, including Love River, Kenting National Park, Sun Moon Lake and Alishan (Mt. Ali), according to investigators.
Chen and Yang admitted to disguising as Chinese tourists by faking mainland Chinese accents, taking advantage of the increased numbers of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan.
Taiwan and China launched direct charter flights across the Taiwan Straits on weekends starting from July 4.
Direct visits by mainland Chinese tourists in package tour groups tour were officially launched yesterday.
Acting on a tip, investigators from the bureau's southern Taiwan office raided an apartment building in Zuoying, Kaohsiung City in the afternoon, busting the two men. Kaohsiung police joined the raid.
The two men were also charged with possessing amphetamines.
According to the CIB, the investigators confiscated 6,500 Chinese yuan (renminbi or RMB) in bills that looked like real ones, small bags of amphetamines and an electronic scale at the apartment.
Investigators handed the two suspects over to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office for further questioning.
The CIB is still tracing the source of the bogus Chinese currency.
The counterfeit yuan bills were so well-made that they could easily be mistaken for real money, said the investigators.
The local government recently approved exchange between Chinese yuan and local current -- New Taiwan dollars -- to facilitate the increased numbers of Chinese tourists coming into the country.
Taiwan businesspeople living and working in China as well as local residents on sightseeing trips to China can now also make convenient NT$-RMB conversions.
CIB officials said the arrival of more Chinese tourists and the appreciation of renminbi are luring more criminals to make illegal profits from the bogus money.
But there are easy ways to distinguish fake currency: the genuine bills are printed with a rough surface while the fake bills feel smooth.
The denomination figure at the left bottom corner of the genuine bills is printed with ink that changes colors to show various hues when looked at from different angles.
There are also concealed denominations on the real bills. Glowing figures can be seen when turning the bills horizontally against light, they added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=162 2008/7/24
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested 10 gang members in Shihchi City of Taipei County for their alleged involvement in selling illegal drugs and coercing other people.
Chu Guei, leader of the ring, was among those taken in for further interrogations.
CIB officials said Chu, who had previous criminal records for robbery and gambling, had recruited youths dropping out of school to bully and blackmail other students.
There was solid evidence that the group has been pushing illicit drugs targeted at students and residents in neighboring communities.
Chu and his followers were also meddling in corporations' business activities by forcing contractors of certain construction projects to pay protection fees.
In the crackdown operation led by public prosecutors, CIB agents also confiscated one handgun plus other weapons and uniforms used by the gang members.
After initial questioning, the suspects were handed over to the Shilin Prosecutors Office for investigation and indictment, said the CIB officials.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=161 2008/7/22
Human rights activists have voiced concerns over a proposed law to expand the DNA
databases for forensic investigations.
The activists are worried that citizens' human rights might be infringed upon if the government abused the DNA databases.
The National Police Agency (NPA), citing needs for crime prevention and investigation, is actively soliciting support from lawmakers for the expansion of the DNA databases.
The proposal law has passed first reading in the Legislature, and stands a chance of becoming law by the end of the current legislative session.
Currently police are only allowed to build up DNA files of offenders who have committed felony or sexual assaults.
But the proposal seeks to cover offenders of less serious crimes, such as thefts and drug abuse.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said the planned expansion of DNA databases will not infringe upon citizens' human rights.
Cheng Hsiao-kuei, head of the CIB's Office of Forensic Scientists, said forensic DNA databases help the police shorten their investigations by quickly identifying the criminals.
Cheng said the forensic office is adopting a Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA analysis technology which collects information without revealing facts about the individual's physique, health condition, family health history or lifestyle.
It will therefore in no way violate anyone's human rights, Cheng said. The expansion plan has been passed by the Legislature in its first reading recently.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=160 2008/7/22 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested yesterday the key suspect involved in an armed robbery attempt at a branch of Citibank of the U.S. on the intersection of Nanjing East Road and Songjiang Road in Taipei last month.
Wang Yu-chun, arrested at an apartment in Banqiao City, Taipei County during the early morning hours, confessed that he planned the heist, said CIB officials.
Wang, 38, was actually a former security guard working at the Taiwan branch of Group 4 Securicor plc, which was responsible for cash delivery for many financial institutions here.
He told CIB agents that he joined G4S in January but left soon thereafter in April because he found it difficult to get along with other colleagues.
When serving as a security guard, he familiarized himself with the operations and the regular routes of the cash van.
The Citibank was one of the routine stops on the route Wang was assigned.
Wang recruited several others to gather guns and work out a hit plan. They went to the area surrounding the branch close to half a dozen times during a two-month period, simulating operations.
They sprang into action on the morning of June 13.
When one of Wang's accomplices fired shots into the sky at around 9 a.m., two G4S guards who were walking toward their cash delivery van parked outside the bank immediately retreated back into the lobby of the bank.
Attempting to flee the botched robbery, Wang fired a shot that shattered the glass windows, escaping on a motorcycle of a waiting accomplice.
Police managed to gather fingerprint samples from a crash helmet left outside the bank and arrested one of Wang's accomplices on July 4.
Wang said he decided to rob the bank because of what he described as lax security measures taken by G4S.
CIB officials said they are still cooperating with the Taipei Municipal Police Department to expand the investigation to take in other members of the failed-robbery plot and to find out if the group had taken part in other bank robberies.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=159 2008/7/16 Seven people were apprehended yesterday for alleged ticket scalping, by buying and selling
train tickets to several travel agencies in the past eight months, profiting NT$50 to 100 each per ticket. Their ticket booking scheme made it difficult for the public to obtain tickets from the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA),according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Those suspects allegedly booked the tickets by auto-dialing the TRA's phone line immediately after the system opened for daily sales at 6 a.m., and may have resulted in profits over NT$10 million -- from nearly 80,000 tickets in total -- CIB officials said.
After hoarding tickets, they then sold them to well-known travel agencies, including South-East Travel Service and ezTravel, who went on to raise prices further prior to peak travel periods during the holidays.
The CIB indicated that there were at least 3 suspected rings involved in this incident; one of them set over 100 phone lines in Taipei, Hualian, Nantou respectively. They allegedly stole other's ID numbers to reserve tickets, which allowed them to use computers to mass auto-dial the system.
The vice president of the TRA, Chiang Yin-hei, said that the company will soon increase anti-fraud security measures of its systems to ensure the protection of the public.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=158 2008/7/16
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday busted a con ring, arresting eight people suspected of conning victims into buying illegal stock investment products.
CIB officials handed the mastermind of the ring, surnamed Yang, and other seven cadres of his company over to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors for further interrogations.
Yang allegedly placed recruitment ads on an online job bank, and promised to recruit people responding to the ads immediately after they filled out the resume forms. Then, during the orientation course for the job applicants, Yang and his company cadres tried hard to con them into buying a special stock investment portfolio valued at NT$60,000 to NT$150,000 and with a maturity of one to three years.
Then Yang asked new employees to solicit their friends and relatives to buy the same products, which have yet to be approved by government authorities.
Over the past six months, Yang's company had raked in tens of millions of the New Taiwan dollars from over 80 victims, seriously undermining the trading confidence of the local financial market.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=157 2008/7/1
Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents have rounded up 17 suspects for creating and using counterfeit credit

cards in a scam that has swindled more than NT$10 million from companies.
The detainees included Yang Tsao-chin, the ring leader who was only released from jail last year for the same crime.
Agents of the CIB under the National Police Agency (NPA) said that Yang could have teamed up with accomplices in some

neighboring Southeast Asian nations for this international scheme.
After receiving tips on the use of fake credit cards on the market, agents cooperated with financial institutions,

department stores, and the National Credit Card Center to trace and hunt down the customers who made purchases with the phony

cards.
They decided to take action on Tuesday after learning about the return of Wang Chun-chieh, a local accomplice, with a

batch of blank cards from a trip to Malaysia.
Yang and Wang managed to put up a team of around 20 people to set up an operation center at an apartment rented in

Zhonghe City of Taipei County.
The agents and local police have also confiscated 17 newly produced credit cards, 250 semifinished ones, several

counterfeit identity cards, and passports plus printing machines, notebook computers, and other equipment.
The fake cards looked identical with the genuine American Express cards and Diners Club cards.
An initial probe by the CIB showed that Yang restarted his counterfeit operation after getting out of jail last year.
He could have purchased the codes for the credit cards from foreign suppliers who illegally copied the data with

sophisticated electronic gadgets when the cards of customers were swiped during financial transactions at stores.
Yang, 46, may have also acquired the data contained inside the cards from computer hackers who were able to retrieve

the data during online transactions.
He sent out members in his syndicate to make massive purchases with the fake cards and then converted the purchased

goods into cash before the counterfeit cards were discovered by store owners or card-issuing banks.
Yang has netted an estimated over NT$10 million in illegal gains.
According to the CIB, Yang was arrested with more than 2,000 fake credit cards six years ago in one of the largest

fake card crime cases in Taiwan.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=156 2008/7/1
A man in Taipei County has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife and two daughters in 2006 after police investigation showed that what had seemed to be a case of suicide was actually murder.
Chang Ho-ling, allegedly drugged his wife and two daughters with ethyl ether and poisoned them with gas inside their tightly sealed apartment in Hsichi City to make it look like suicide.
But autopsy results have shown that the wife and daughters had been drugged,the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
According to the CIB, Chang had taken out life insurance polices for the wife, and his wife was filing for divorce before her death.
Chang went to China shortly after the deaths of his wife and daughters and did not return until late last month.
He has failed a lie detector test,the police said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=155 2008/6/24
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday unveiled a new scheme adopted by a con ring to swindle money from elderly people, as there were have been over 10 victims.
CIB officials said that swindlers first obtained personal data on the elderly victims via the social welfare service system, and then gave phone calls to them in the name of local health units to check whether they have received "health examination" notifications, thus winning the trust of the old people. Finally, the swindlers directly visited the residences of the seniors in a fake capacity as service staff of the local social affairs bureau, and then conned victims out of their savings.
According to the officials, an 80-year-old woman surnamed Chen and living in eastern Taipei was swindled NT$10,000 and two bank-account books by swindlers, who claimed that they could apply for an "elderly pension" for her.
CIB officials continued that over the past months, they have received at least 10 con cases of this kind.
They urged elderly people not to allow strangers to come into their homes and not to recklessly show their bank-account books and personal chops to strangers, lest they should
be conned.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=154 2008/6/24 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday deported a U.S. doctor to face trial in California for allegedly drugging at least 19 male patients and taking nude photos of them.
Departing aboard a United Airlines UA872 flight at noon from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport under the escort of two U.S. police officers, the man is to be taken back to the United States to face judicial trial, the CIB said in a statement.
The American-born man of Hong Kong ancestry, identified as 40-year-old Shiu Tony Gong, was a dentist in Alameda, California.
He allegedly sexually assaulted at least 19 male patients while practicing dentistry in the U.S. between June 2003 and August 2006.
Police here launched a probe after receiving reports from two men -- a patient and a friend -- who claimed they had been drugged and sexually assaulted, and one raped while spending a night at Gong's home.
When police searched Gong's home, they found 450 digital photos of patients, drugged and nude or semi-nude.
Gong fled to Taiwan on Sept. 24, 2006 aboard a EVA Airways BR870 flight, just before he was placed on a wanted list by a California court on Oct. 5, 2006, the CIB said.
Gong had since taught English in a cram school in Taiwan under the name "Tony Jo" and had changed his residences in Taiwan frequently, the CIB said.
Informed by U.S. authorities of Gong's fugitive felon status early this month, the CIB launched an investigation into Gong's whereabouts and located him on May 20 in Taipei, the CIB said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=153 2008/6/2 Hou Yu-ih, director general of the National Police Agency, said yesterday he is asking for American help to bring Ching Chi-jiu to justice.
"We are asking for the help through proper channels," Hou said.
A spokesman from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said the CIB and the National Immigration Agency will go through related channels to find the exact whereabouts of Ching Chi-jiu, who is wanted in Taiwan for defrauding US$29.8 million from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in 2006.
Ching is one of the two brokers who claimed to help set up diplomatic relations between Taiwan and Papua New Guinea. He was escorted to Singapore on April 21, 2007 to get US$30 million back for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
James Huang, foreign minister, had the money remitted to a joint account Ching and Wu Shi-tsai held at a Singapore bank. The money was an advance for the brokering fees.
While in Singapore, Ching managed to shake off his tail and went into hiding on April 22.
Initial investigation shows Ching went to Shenzhen near Guangzhou. He proceeded to Tokyo on April 29.
From Tokyo Ching flew to Toronto, Ontario on May 1. He then drove across the border to the United States on the following day.
He is believed to be staying in or near Los Angeles, California. He owns a house in Los Angeles, where his wife resides.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=151 2008/5/7
All wholesale stores, including Carrefour, Geant, RT-Mart, and Wellcome chains, have temporarily removed from shelves

coconuts imported from Thailand after some of the tropical fruits were reported to contain the residue of a banned pesticide.
Executives of the stores said their coconuts were not supplied by the trading firm identified by Taipei County law

enforcement agents and consumer protection officials who already tracked down a businessman who brought into Taiwan a

shipment of 21-tons of coconuts tainted with fungicide Carbendazim.
Carbendazim is a chemical pesticide used to control a broad range of diseases in crops, fruits, and vegetables.
The use of the chemical is believed to affect hormone function and can cause fetal deformation during pregnancy if it

exceeds safety limits.
Police at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) interrogated the businessman, Mo Yu-huei, early yesterday in a bid

to trace and recover the questionable products.
The trading company owner refused to disclose to whom he had sold the coconuts.
But he revealed that his company had sold the goods mainly to street vendors.
Executives of chain hypermarket outlets in the county conducted sweeping inspections, but none were selling the

coconuts supplied by Mo's firm.
They were asked, however, to remove any coconuts originated in Thailand from their shelves until additional tests

could be conducted. They obliged for the safety of customers.
Earlier in the day, county officials responsible for the protection of consumers' rights and health raided Mo's

company -- named "Jih Chao" in Mandarin -- at its registered address in Tucheng. But they found only a household there.
Police traced the trader's actual operational base in Luzhou in the northern part of the county in the hope of

retrieving the coconuts.
The Department of Health (DOH) reported the previous day that tests on samples from the shipment of over 30,000

Rungtawan coconuts and found 0.18 ppm of the fungicide Carbendazim in the juice and meat of the fruit.
Although the volume of Carbendazim was minimal, any produce containing traces of the substance should be destroyed,

said Hsieh Ting-hung, vice director of the DOH's Bureau of Food Safety.
When the government authorities asked to inspect the coconuts on April 18, the importer signed a letter of indemnity

agreeing to store them in a special warehouse and to sell them only after the test was completed.
But when Taipei County health officials went to the warehouse after the tests were completed to destroy the coconuts,

they discovered the coconuts were all gone.
Local health officials said they didn't know if the coconuts "have been deliberately hidden somewhere or they have

been sold to the public."
The CIB and local police have mounted a search operation to recover the coconuts distributed by Mo before unaware

customers consume the products.
According to the related regulations on food safety management, manufacturers or importers are subject to a fine up

to NT$200,000 (around US$6,580) if their food products are found to contain banned substances.
Suppliers are liable to imprisonment of up to six months in serious cases.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=150 2008/5/5 A Norwegian pedophile was extradited to Oslo from Taiwan yesterday.
Harry Larsen was the first European extradited from Taiwan, a spokesman for the Criminal Investigation Bureau said.
Two Norwegian agents took Larsen under custody at Taoyuan International Airport in the evening. They left aboard a KLM flight for Amsterdam en route to Oslo.
Larsen, convicted of pedophilia and sentenced to two years in prison in Oslo,arrived in Kaohsiung from Hong Kong on Sept. 23 last year.
Subsequently, he married a Taiwanese, identified only as Miss Huang, and obtained permanent residence in Taiwan, the CIB spokesman said.
Last month, the CIB liaison officer in Bangkok met his Danish counterpart Henning Jensen, who transmitted a request by the Norwegian police for the extradition of Larsen.
At the same time, the CIB spokesman said, Interpol also forwarded a similar request on behalf of the Norwegian police. Larsen was on an Interpol wanted list.
"We have had Larsen arrested in Tainan," said the CIB spokesman. He did not specify when the Norwegian pedophile was captured.
The handover of Larsen took place at Terminal Two of Taoyuan International Airport.
He was handed over to Randi Bones and Fredrik Skoglunn.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=152 2008/5/23
"Promise me you will take good care of my poodles," the woman told Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents. "Only then will I tell."
They had to comply.
Otherwise, there's little chance that police could find out how Lien Shang-yin, 30, of Tamsui, conspired to kill her new husband at the mountain resort of Huang Shan in China.
CIB agents were tipped off by the father of the victim, Liang Chien-chang, 46, also of Tamsui.
The elder Liang said his son was a good-for-nothing no woman would marry. "Then," the old man told CIB agents, "I was told by my daughter-in-law he died in an accident in China."
Agents raided a hostel in downtown Tamsui Monday morning to round up Lien and three men. One of them, Lee Hsien-chang, 38, of Tamsui, is her lover.
The other two, both on the hostel staff, were identified as Sung Chin-tsai, 53, and Yang Ming-chang, 34.
And CIB agents found five prisoners at a loft conversion of the six-story hostel building as a bonus for their early morning raid.
Lee had one woman, a former prostitute, and three homeless men caged after he had compelled them to give away their ID cards, with which he opened bank accounts to operate an ATM scam.
He made at least NT$1 million by cheating scores of victims, investigators said.
The promise to take care of the canine pets made Liang talk.
She told CIB agents Lee made arrangements for her marriage with Liang in the end of last November. After the wedding, the couple went on a honeymoon trip to Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain).
Prior to the couple's departure, Lee took out travel insurance for Liang. Lien, the beneficiary, would receive NT$62 million, if her husband should die.
Yang and Sung, both of Tamsui, accompanied the couple.
Liang fell off a cliff and died on Dec. 15, Lien was quoted as saying. Yang and Sung denied they pushed the victim off the cliff to his death.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=147 2008/4/7
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a man suspected of publicizing secret codes online to facilitate browsing and downloading of nude pictures of a Hong Kong actor and his actress girlfriends.
CIB officials said the massive online exposure of obscene pictures of the Hong Kong actor Edison Chen and his previous girlfriends, including Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung, has sent shockwaves through Hong Kong, China and Taiwan. In their recent patrol of online crimes, CIB agents found on Feb. 10 a Web page showing secret codes for downloading the said obscene pictures, offered by a person bearing the code name ggoottyy520.
As of Feb. 15, as many as 139,700 users hit the online album, the officials continued. After checking the online connection records, CIB agents found that a man surnamed Huang and living in Panchiao, Taipei County was allegedly involved in the case.
Huang was handed over to the Panchiao District Prosecutor's Office for prosecution on charges of violating Article 235 of the Criminal Code, which prohibits people from circulating obscene pictures and products.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=146 2008/4/7 A former husband of local "gossip queen" Hsu Tsun-mei was detained for allegedly cheating insurance firms by pretending he had severely impaired eyesight.
Huang Hai-ming, 39, was caught red-handed by detectives of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) when he was driving a car to leave his home in the northern harbor city of Keelung on Wednesday.
He was turned over to the Keelung Prosecutors Office yesterday to face charges of forgery and fraud.
CIB officials started monitoring Huang's activities after receiving reports about possible insurance fraud from nine insurance firms early this year.
Huang purchased policies from the insurers and demanded claims amounting to NT$47 million after presenting a diagnosis of serious eyesight impairment from an eye doctor at the Keelung branch of the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital.
One of the insurance firms had already paid him NT$3 million.
CIB investigations showed that Huang was a great pretender with the premeditated motive of cheating the insurance firms out of money.
Huang liked to wear a cap and tended to squint his eyes when talking to people, pretending he could not see things clearly.
But videotapes prepared by the CIB showed that Huang often drove the car by himself -- sometimes despite having female companions in the car.
During the questioning session, Huang again feigned that he could not read the transcript of his statements.
He even scrawled his signature in the wrong place on the statement, claiming that he "could not see or read the document."
But Huang eventually admitted that the poor eyesight was feigned after he saw the videotapes showing him driving a car, including squeezing into a small parking space backwards with extreme efficiency.
The doctor at the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital said even he was fooled by Huang.
Huang, who was unemployed, caught media attention after he was accused of domestic violence by "gossip queen" Hsu. Hsu charged that he had been seeking an unprecedented "separation fee" of NT$550 million from her.
Hsu also accused Huang's father of liking to "get into her panties."
Huang had in turn caught Hsu "sharing the same quilt on the same bed" with a man and hiring a male prostitute. They also filed libel lawsuits against each other.
The two eventually divorced. But their court battles are still far from over.
Hsu got exceptionally rich with windfall from her two former wealthy husbands. One left her a large sum of alimony after divorce while the other passed on to her highly valuable estates after his demise.
After constantly appearing in local media as a newsmaker or subject of gossip, she was frequently invited to TV shows.
Hsu enjoys basking in media spotlight. She had attempted a performing career, but it never took off.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=145 2008/4/7 Two wanted gunmen were repatriated from China to Taiwan yesterday morning via the transport route under the three mini direct links across the Taiwan Strait, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The two shooting suspects were identified as Wang Kun-hsiang and Lin Chen-shan. They were repatriated from Xiamen of Fujian Province to the outlying island of Kinmen via a ferryboat.
The repatriation was based on the "Kinmen Agreement" signed between Red Cross Societies of Taiwan and China on Sept. 12, 1990 on the repatriation of hijackers, stowaways and other criminals.
CIB officials said Wang was suspected of kidnapping a county council speaker and of demanding a ransom of NT$150 million in 2001, and he fled to mainland China after he was wanted by the Taoyuan District Court.
Lin was involved in a shooting case that occurred at a night club in Chungshan District, Taipei in 2006, and then flew to the other side of the Taiwan Strait. He is now wanted by the Taipei District Court.
In December 2007, Wang and Lin allegedly masterminded an intimidation case, by calling their accomplices in Taiwan to extort NT$8 million from two businessmen in Linkuo Township of Taipei County. The accomplices threatened to kidnap the two businessmen after firing warning shots before their residences.
On March 28, Wang and Lin were arrested by mainland Chinese policemen, and the CIB was soon informed of the arrest.
Yesterday morning, an 11-member team headed by a CIB division chief and including a representative of the Straits Exchange Foundation arrived in Hoping Dock in Xiamen to pick up both suspects and then took the "New Golden Dragon" ferryboat back to Kinmen.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=149 2008/4/18
"Don't be afraid," the police officer kept repeating to the alleged victim of a recent telephone scam, as he attempted to figure out whether the man had already wired any money to unknown bank accounts.
Officer Liu and his colleagues are members of a 50-person squad appointed at the 165 Hotline, a unique toll number in Taiwan, which allows the public to report immediately to authorities any suspicious phone calls from prosecutors, government officials or employees of public companies, urging them to wire large amounts of cash ... to the bank accounts of underground criminal rings.
The 165 Hotline was established in 2004 by the police under the supervision of the Ministry of the Interior in response to the great urgency of providing a standard, convenient and efficient way to deal with such scams, explained Ma jen-hwa, section chief in charge of crime prevention at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
"You need to act quickly," he said, while describing the process by which victims would report the phony number to police officers.
He noted that the scams all end up with victims being told to wire money to bogus bank accounts in the end.
First, scammers used fake Short Message Service (SMS) messages informing gullible people that they had won important gifts in a lottery; then, criminal rings adopted recorded messages to ask credulous people with a payment behind to wire cash to designated bank accounts, described Ma.
Today, such scams have extended to the Internet as swindlers have hacked into popular online shopping Web Sites and stolen the personal information of users, he added.
Each time, however, the targets were asked to wire money to unknown bank accounts.
For instance, someone would contact users from online shopping Web Sites about a possible mistake made during their last order, which caused the price of products to be mistakenly charged by installments. The con artist then would ask the client to wire the entire price of the purchased products directly to a bank account via an ATM.
"Scammers mostly work in pairs," he stressed, while pointing at well organized crime rings operating between Taiwan and China: Some people are in charge of designing even more sophisticated scams and training other accomplices to properly answer the phone, while others are in charge of collecting the swindled funds directly in Taiwan.
However, Ma emphasized that the collaboration between police authorities from Taiwan and China to curb the soaring number of scams involving the two sides of the Strait has been hampered by the absence of cross-strait communications in recent years.
"Because of the stalemate, you can't arrest people across the Strait," said Wu Rong-kai, deputy section chief at the same crime prevention unit.
"Criminals have taken advantage of the strained communication channels between Taiwan and China," he added.
But, the phenomenon is not limited at Taiwan, he insisted. For the last two years, Korea, Japan and China have also been confronted with the same surge in telephone and Internet scams.
According to figures from the CIB, 165 Hotline received in 2006 up to 888,000 phone calls reporting beguilers of all kinds, up from 789,000, a year earlier.
"The increase is by and large the result of a surge in Internet scams, which have now become the top scamming method islandwide," he said.
"Their objective is to cheat people out of their money through bank wiring," he went on, stressing that they also aim at scaring their victims to stop them from thinking.
Anyone can be the victim of such schemes, insisted Wu, who noted that teachers, bank employees, retired school principals, university professors and even police officers were among regular victims of the individuals.
"There isn't any differentiation between age, sex or educational background," he added, before tentatively suggesting that Taiwan's society is perhaps more prone to believe in such scams, compared with the public from other countries like Singapore, because of the national education system, which does not promote critical thinking enough.
Further, Wu warned that scammers would shamelessly contact their previous victims in a bid to fleece them again.
A 60-year-old housewife was fooled three times, he explained, noting that the first time it was too late for the police to retrieve any of her funds, the second time, she acted more quickly and got her money back; but the third time, it was also too late again as it was the bank which eventually contacted police.
"Victims are not given enough time to think," he emphasized, as he urged the public to use the 165 Hotline to obtain relevant information day and night.
As soon as an incident is reported, police officers can check suspicious bank accounts and block any money that has been previously wired.
"The sooner you report it, the better," he continued, while lamenting that there is no efficient protection against phone calls originating from China.
He noted, anyway, that swindlers have progressively shifted to new programs providing phone calls directly through the Internet.
Since 2004, officers from 165 Hotline still managed to retrieve NT$300 millions from criminals, who according to the law can be jailed for up to three years in prison if condemned.
He stressed that like banks, Internet shopping providers need to be more accountable and work in closer collaboration with police.
"Unless the website had been hacked, how could third-parties know about the users' personal info? " he rhetorically asked.
"But if you don't wire any money, you won't be cheated," he repeated.

Caption:
Dimitri Bruyas, The China Post
Officers from the national police administration answer calls from possible victims of telephone and Internet scams at the 165 Hotline Center located in Taipei City yesterday morning.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=148 2008/4/18
A high school dropout disguised as a holder of a master's degree was caught by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) for supplying fake academic certificates on the Internet.
CIB officials said yesterday they found last April a certain person had been soliciting customers for academic documents like certificates, graduation diplomas, and other credentials via free advertisements on some Web sites.
Following several months of probe, they pinned down Chen Chien-ang, 53, living in Taipei County.
A search of his residence Tuesday evening uncovered forged diplomas bearing the names of local universities, semifinished documents, a computer and a scanner plus chops as evidence.
Chen admitted that he worked as an engineering contractor after dropping out of high school. But his operations have gone downhill in recent years due to worsening business conditions.
After finding that many people are unable to find jobs due to the lack of decent academic credentials, he started offering the counterfeit documents by charging NT$5,000 to NT$15,000 each depending on the types of the diplomas.
After receiving orders through e-mails, Chen said, he would show the finished documents to buyers and then collect the fee.
He told CIB officials that he has so far sold 55 bogus academic documents totaling more than NT$500,000.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=143 2008/2/4
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a former employee of the Eastern Home Shopping (EHS) channel who was suspected of leaking confidential personal data of EHS clients to seek improper earnings.
The suspect, surnamed Kao, was sent to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for further prosecution over his alleged violation of the personal data protection law.
Kao's personal computer and memory sticks were also confiscated as evidence for his criminal practices.
CIB will check to see if Kao leaked the EHS's client data
to con artists.
CIB agents said that Kao served as a sales manager for Eastern Multimedia Group's affiliated entertainment company from October 2006 to August 2007. He managed to collect personal data of over 100,000 clients of EHS by taking advantage of his post as a sales manager at the affiliate.
CIB also found that Kao was engaged in selling the data for four times, earning some NT$40,000. The largest deal involved data of up to 130,000 clients.
Local news media reported earlier that from Sept. 3 to Nov. 26, 2007, more than 800 customers of the EHS suffered losses of over NT$60 million as a result of their personal data being leaked during the period.
A woman surnamed Chen was swindled out of NT$9,000 after registering to buy a bracelet valued at NT$1,900, as the date of purchase, the ID data, the address and birthday of the woman were all made known to the con artists.
Ms. Chiang, another victim, told the police that she received a call asking her to transfer money again to cover the purchases from the EHS, on grounds that something was wrong with the EHS computer system. Chiang said she followed the instruction, leading to a loss of NT$30,000.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=142 2008/2/4
A ring of 18 con artists whose activity focused on defrauding Indonesian citizens was apprehended by the Second Investigation Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday, consisting of eight illegal Indonesian foreign workers in Taiwan.
The CIB indicated that the mastermind Chen Piao-chang and the rest of the ring members cheated Indonesian citizens by sending overseas text messages noting that they had won prizes through horse-racing and drawings, and asked them to wire money to the charity account to help orphans caused by the tsunami.
"The charity account was opened in Taiwan, and when the text message recipients returned the call, the Indonesian foreign workers would pretend to be office workers in Hong Kong," CIB said.
They further stated, "Booklets on fraud strategies and account checkbooks were found at the scene, and the booklets had been translated into Indonesian from Chinese. Hundreds of people have been defrauded with the sum adding up to be more than NT$10,000,000."
The raid was conducted by Miaoli District Prosecutor Chang Wen-chieh, where Chen and the rest of the ring members were found separately in Taichung City, Nantou County, Changhua County and Miaoli County.
Chen had been caught by police last year for being a member of a Chinese fraud gang. The gang was sentenced for 18 to 22 months in prison in the first trial, and the second trial is set for Nov. 2.
The fraudsters including Chen were freed on bail in April and May this year, and continued their criminal activities. In addition, there were many reports of Chen's involvement in threat and fraud cases at high school and elementary schools in Taipei and Taichung district, where he was trailed by the Miaoli District Prosecutors Office, according to police sources.
The police noted that Chen and his crew planned on leaving the island by boat in November to avoid the trial sentence.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=141 2008/2/4
Over 20 members of local gangster groups, the Bamboo Union and Tien Tao Union, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on the night before the funeral of Bamboo Union Boss Chen Chi-li, for violent money collection and threatening locals including well-known designer Isabelle Wen.
According to police, the company Tien Min Kai Fa Corp. was established in Yingge Township, Taipei County and owned by Chao Che-ming, who was also the vice leader of Tien Min unit of the Tien Tao Union. The establishment acted as a predatory money collection firm which allegedly made violent threats to a number of construction sites, collecting over NT$1 million every month.
Police said local designer Isabelle Wen and her family were reportedly also victims of the group. A gang led by the leader of the Bamboo Union's Tiger unit harassed Wen and her husband for a NT$800,000 payment, scaring them off of informing police.
The gang also presented themselves with an unverified NT$800,000 IOU note in Wen's boutique in Daan district, threatening staff members to provide details on Wen's whereabouts.
Chung Fu-he, vice leader of the Dragon Unit and 14 other members of the Bamboo Union were arrested by the CIB.
Police also said that the Dragon unit operated a "Kang He care taking center," that was used as a gathering place for gang members.
Chung and members of the gang used guns to threaten a local construction company in Taipei County to pay a commission of NT$5 million over negotiating a property purchase, a situation which later resulted in a man being brutally beaten.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=140 2008/2/4
A 32-year-old Taipei resident was arrested yesterday for selling bogus brand name sports shoes by mail.
Agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau said a pair of Nike sneakers, which costs only NT$100, was sold for over NT$300.
The arrested suspect was identified only as Lai.
Lai had to pay NT$150 in postage stamp to send the bogus shoes from Taichung, a CIB agent said. "Lai sold the faked brand name shoes on his Web-site," he added.
Victims visited Lai's e543.com Web-site in Amoy to buy the shoes at one third the price of a genuine pair.
CIB investigators said Lai has made close to NT$3 million over the past three months.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=139 2008/2/4
Fourteen capi of the Bamboo Alliance mob were arrested yesterday for recruiting other Mafia mobsters to attend the funeral for their late don, Chen Chi-li.
Agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) rounded them up on old charges of debt collection and extortion. Only one top capi was identified.
Chung Pu-sheng, one of the top capi of the Bamboo Alliance, had hundreds of mobsters called to attend the funeral, scheduled for tomorrow in Taipei.
Hundreds of policemen have been alerted to keep order at the vacant parking lot of a shopping mall at Tachih. They are afraid mobsters may cause trouble at the funeral service that will start at 8 a.m.
Chen Chi-li is the most famous for his assassination of Chiang Nan in San Francisco, California, and his subsequent conviction. Chiang Nan authored the Biography of Chiang Ching-kuo.
A Military Intelligence Bureau chief, convinced Chiang Nan had slandered President Chiang Ching-kuo, asked the top Mafioso to do Chiang Nan in. The writer is considered as a martyr for the cause of freedom of speech.

Ninth grader found dead
at school restroom

The China Post news staff

A Taipei ninth grader was found dead with his head in a plastic bag at his school restroom yesterday.
The student was identified only by his family name of Liu.
Police investigators said Liu called his parents back at home by phone Monday evening, telling them he could not return for supper because he had to attend cram school.
The boy did not return home by 10 p.m. Thereupon, the parents began searching for him.
School authorities were contacted, too.
The body was discovered shortly after 7 a.m.
Investigators did not rule out the possibility of suicide.
"It's likely," one investigator said,"that the boy was depressed because he had to face a very competitive entrance examination for high school."

Taiwanese man pleads guilty to
rapes and burglaries in U.S.

CINCINNATI, AP

A man who was considered a trusted member of a close-knit Taiwanese community in suburban Cincinnati entered guilty pleas Monday to a series of rapes in which he used stun guns and chloroform to knock out the teenage daughters of his friends while they were home alone.
Chien Tai Wu, a 50-year-old software designer who was born in Taiwan, pleaded guilty in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to two charges each of rape and attempted rape, five charges of aggravated burglary and one charge each of felonious assault and illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material.
In exchange for those pleas, three charges of felonious assault and a charge of gross sexual imposition were dismissed.
Judge William Mallory Jr. set sentencing for Dec. 7.
The initial charges covered crimes against three victims on five dates over a six-year period, according to court records.
Wu, who holds a doctorate in computer science, was arrested in July and confessed when questioned by detectives from the Hamilton County sheriff's office, according to previous court testimony.
He was set to go to trial in January, but changed his mind after a hearing last week in which Mallory refused to throw out his statement to police.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=138 2008/2/4
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked down on a drug trafficking ring that owned a marijuana farm in a Taipei City public housing apartment.
The main suspect, a 40-year-old surnamed Na, kept some 70 pots of marijuana plants in his public housing residence located in the city's Neihu area.
Upon the arrest, CIB operatives confiscated marijuana seeds and other drug paraphernalia in addition to the marijuana plants.
Na's accomplices, surnamed Chu, Chu, and Hsu, were also nabbed by police. The three were in charge of selling the drug, which they primarily sold in the form of joints.
The entire case has been forwarded to the Shilin District Prosecutors Office for further processing.
CIB officers said they had been following Na and the others for "a long time" before making the arrest.
Investigators said Na had purchased the marijuana seeds from a foreign Web site, with instructions on how to cultivate the plants.
Na told investigators that he started the criminal operation in order to pay off a NT$2 million debt that he incurred as a result of his former business going bankrupt.
Police said that since the start of this year, the criminal operation had already sold three batches of the illegal drug, mostly to close friends of Na's, including fitness instructors and movie actors.
Na had previously worked in the entertainment industry as an actor. Because of his background, investigators are also looking for possible connections between the criminal ring and the local entertainers.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=137 2008/2/4
A mafia head was arrested for usury in Chiayi yesterday, the Criminal Investigation Bureau spokesperson said.
Chen Kuo-fa, 36, of Chiayi, was nabbed shortly before dawn
CIB agents said Chen worked with a "wealthy" supporter to lend at least NT$300 million to collect an interest of 20 percent a month for close to five years.
"If one borrowed NT$10,000," a CIB agent said, "one had to pay NT$6,000 in interest by month."
Should debtors fail to repay, Chen would have the loans collected by violence.
At least 5,000 people have been victimized, CIB agents said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=134 2008/2/4
Members of the well-known "Tien Tao Union" gang, including the local head Huang Kuan-hung, were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) for operating a network of "jiu dian" or KTV escort bars, loan sharks, underground casinos, and violent debt collectors, according to a CNA report.
"Huang, the union's section chief in Chungli City, Taoyuan County, known as 'Ah Sung' is suspected of conducting underground operations, and also coordinating the beating of a customer involved in an argument at one of the escort bars who was seriously injured and hospitalized for days," CIB said.
Under the CIB's close surveillance with the Taoyuan police, they were able to identify Huang's hideout at the site of the underground casino, which was disguised as a car-washing facility.
"In order to avoid police scrutiny, Huang made the facility hard to enter, hiring underaged youth as doormen. During the arrest, the CIB threw in a flash bang to shock everyone inside, and forced the front door open before the approach," according to the report.
"The facility was located beside Laochieh River which made the attack more difficult. Twelve police officers had to travel through the river and climb into the back of the casino with ladders, to prevent members of the gang and gamblers from escaping," police said.
A total of 25 gamblers, one casino host and six casino members were arrested during the attack and over NT$1.3 million, walkie-talkies, and surveillance cameras were found at the scene.
At the same time, over 70 police divided into 16 units and arrested nine other members in Taoyuan County. A pistol and 30 shotgun shells were confiscated for further investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=133 2008/2/4
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday issued new warnings to consumers using electronic online shopping systems to be on guard against fraud, including the stealing of personal data and secret codes.
CIB under the National Police Agency (NPA) reported that the eight leading e-shopping Web sites and two major TV online shopping channels have been victimized by hacking in the first half of this months.
The worst cases involve the theft of about 5,000 batches of personal data of customers using PayEasy and the diverting of NT$2 million in cash from the bank account of a man, surnamed Lin, using an undisclosed channel.
The data gathered by the NPA's "165 anti-fraud phone line" showed that shoppers reported 797 fraud cases with financial losses ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$60,000 per case during the two-week period.
The victims had used online shopping services provided by the highly popular Web sites of Yahoo Kimo, Books, KingStone bookstore plus the TV shopping channel offered by Eastern TV and MOMO of Taipei Fubon Bank.
Eastern TV has set up the toll-free phone line 0808-033-165 and MOMO 0800-777-959 to help customers who detected abnormal situations.
Both promised to work closer with the CIB in combating fraudsters and hackers.
CIB officials said the IP (Internet protocol) address of the hackers that struck EasyPay during the night of Dec. 9 was traced to the telecommunications bureau of Fuzhou City, capital of China's southern Fujian Province, which is closest to Taiwan in terms of distance.
As many as 5,000 batches of personal data, or 14 percent of its clientele, were stolen as a result.
Reflecting the prevalent dirty political tricks in Taiwan, the fraudsters have become much smarter recently, including disguising themselves as law enforcement officers, government agency employees, and bank staff representing customer service departments to win people's trust and then swindle cash amounts from NT$30,000 to NT$1 million and even NT$2 million.
The syndicates were able to show the customers' personal data, legitimate phone numbers, and official Web sites of banks or government agencies to win consumers' confidence when they sent electronic messages as formal notices concerning the financial affairs.
When they managed to persuade consumers to use the automated teller machines (ATMs) to divert money or retry the process as instructed, they were able to tap into the bank accounts and sweep up money left there.
They gave several suggestions to forestall the financial frauds:
-- Constantly changing PIN (personal ID number) codes when entering online portals to purchase mobile phones, apply for credit cards, buy insurance policies, etc.
-- Never using ATMs to remit cash as demanded by message senders or phone callers because online shopping operators generally do not change the way of making payments.
-- Clarifying with online shopping service provides for confirmation when asked to adopt new payment systems.
-- Contacting "anti-fraud phone line No. 165" when receiving notices that claim to be coming from government agencies or employees. Some online shopping operators, including Eastern TV, has agreed to give partial compensation to customers who have reported scams through "165" line.
-- Avoiding leaving personal information or contact when engaging in private transactions on the Internet.
-- Beefing up the anti-virus and anti-fraud functions of personal computers to ward off possible invasions by hackers.
CIB officials said they have persuaded the operators to regularly run the warning messages or send text messages to their members to heighten alert against frauds.
Transaction value in Taiwan's online shopping market presently is growing at a robust pace of over 50 percent per year.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=132 2008/2/4
Officials at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) have verified that a family in Taipei County has had no fingerprints for at least five generations.
Lin Teih-bi, an expert on fingerprint identification and verification, recently paid a visit to the family of Huang Cheng-tien after learning that he had no friction skin ridges on any of his fingertip.
Lin personally gathered samples of fingerprints of Huang, his son, and a 1.5-year-old granddaughter.
There were no lines or any shape from skin ridges in their prints, Lin and his CIB colleagues found.
Huang, a retired civil defense member aged 57, said once he was required to make "fingerprint cards" when he was drafted into the army as a conscript 37 years ago.
Officers in his military unit were puzzled that he possessed no fingerprints at all.
Huang, who was perplexed too, brought this up to his father back home while on furlough.
His father told Huang that both he and his father had no fingerprints, either.
This meant that five generations in the Huang family have had no fingerprints.
CIB official Lin said this could be one of the rarest cases on record.
Lin then examined Huang's "fingerprint cards" made when he was a young soldier and found no fingerprints at all.
He said it would be extremely difficult to gather evidence if a person without fingerprints decided to commit a crime.
Huang and his son said there are no specially annoying inconveniences when handling daily chores or in the workplace.
He admitted that he can more accurately identify depictions on tiles when playing the ancient Chinese game of mahjong because his fingertips are much more sensitive than other people's.
A main drawback is that he cannot play the table game for too long -- his fingers ache after a couple of hours.
Huang said he and others in his family would not be allowed to take trips to Japan or other nations that require fingerprints upon entry.
But that will not be a major concern because they have no plans to visit these nations in the near future, he said.
However, Huang's daughter, who has no fingerprints either, has to tackle the problem every day for now.
She is currently working at a high-tech company that has replaced the traditional electronic badge with state-of-the-art biometric security machines that require employees to touch the screen with fingertips to verify their identities with a scan.
She said she is the only one in the company who still has to sign her name in a book when entering or leaving the office.
Medical experts noted that lines, ridges and patterns of fingerprints and on toes generally start forming when an embryo enters the 11th week.
But a genetic mutation affecting protein keratin 14 (KRT 14) could be a possible cause for the lack of fingerprints, they said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=144 2008/2/19 Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents also booked three key suspects plus several accomplices that used beauty to lure more than 300 servicemen into a financial pyramid scam.
According to the CIB, Wu Chan-hung aged 25 and his girlfriend Tsai Yi-shan, 24, recruited a group of young women as employees of their beauty company based in central Taichung. They gave the women some training with sweet talk.
The couple then teamed up with an army officer -- a major surnamed Chen -- to set up appointments for the soldiers with the salesgirls of Wu's firm.
The girls managed to talk the soldiers into handing out NT$500,000 to get memberships of their organization so that they could earn a huge bonus of 10 percent for each new member they helped to recruit.
When some potential targets could not come up with the seed fund, the girls would take them to a bank to get credit loans with the money deposited into the bank account of Wu's firm or under the girls' own names.
CIB officials said the group have swindled up to NT$80 million from over 300 servicemen who mostly belong to an anti-aircraft artillery unit.
The CIB has turned the major over to the military prosecutors for probe and will continue the investigation to find out if a deputy manager of the bank is a key figure of the fraud or an accomplice.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=184 2008/12/17 In a separate action, agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) rounded up 11 crooks who have bilked several millions of renminbi, the mainland Chinese currency, from people in China.
The CIB detained the suspects in a joint operation with the Hsinchu District Prosecutors Office and local police in the northern city of Hsinchu.
Using advanced telecommunications gear, members of the syndicate disguised as public security agents or court officials to make random phone calls to the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
When somebody picked up the phone, the swindlers would tell them to transfer their bank money to a more secure account since their original accounts had been usurped by unauthorized people or frozen due to their delayed payment of phone bills or loan repayments.
They also played pre-recorded sounds of court hearings to make their persuasion more convincing.
During the past two months, the group collected several millions of renminbi,including one transfer of 700,000 yuan.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=183 2008/12/17 Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents yesterday arrested more than 20 key suspects and accomplices connected with three separate operations that used beauty, money or intimidation to cajole a large number of victims into different financial scams.
Cooperating with municipal police, CIB officials detained one man and eight women for coaxing financially ignorant people into underground futures trading based on the fluctuations of the Taiwan stock price index "to earn quick bucks".
The people recruited by the saleswomen, all under the age of 30, were advised to bet on the rise or fall of the index figure at a rate of NT$100 for each point against the firm.
The victims were bullied and threatened when they failed to pay the money they had lost.
When the CIB agents and local police raided the group's office in an apartment building in Taipei, they also confiscated transaction records and recorded tapes.
They have expanded the probe to the search of possible branches of the illegal firm.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=182 2008/12/17 Two suspects that were arrested in connection with a robbery in Kaohsiung City admitted committing the crime to "teach" the company a lesson for mistreating their friend, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
The suspects, surnamed Cheng and Tsao, were nabbed by CIB agents yesterday in Kaohsiung County's Dasheh and Wusong townships.
According to the CIB, the robbery occurred on Sept. 10, when the masked suspects forced their way into the company, located in the southern port city's Chienchen District, and tied up 11 employees at gunpoint. The suspects made out with about NT$100,000 in cash and 14 mobile phones before fleeing the scene.
Cheng and Tsao told the CIB that they committed the robbery because they had heard that a friend was treated disrespectfully during a job interview with the company. In order to "avenge" their friend, they robbed the company to "teach" it a lesson, said the CIB.
The case has been forwarded to the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office on charges that include armed robbery and unlawful possession of arms.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=181 2008/12/17 The Third Brigade of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) under the National Police Agency yesterday busted a Chinese banknote counterfeiting ring in southern Taiwan, and arrested six suspects.
A CIB spokesman said that criminal investigation police, military police and police officers from Kaohsiung city and county monitored the activities of the counterfeiting ring for four months before raiding its four operational bases in Kaohsiung and the adjacent counties of Kaohsiung and Pingtung simultaneously.
The spokesman said that police officers seized fake Chinese currency totaling 90 million yuan and sheets of uncut paper currency worth 45 million yuan, along with a wide range of equipment.
The criminal ring rented a house in a remote mountainous area of Daliao Township in Kaohsiung County as its printing factory. In addition to churning out fake Chinese currency, it also counterfeited prepaid toll coupons for Taiwan's freeways, as well as driving licenses.
The task force seized 3,500 books of fake prepaid freeway toll tickets, each consisting of 100 coupons.
The ring leader was identified as Hsu Chin-cheng, who was arrested on the spot with his girlfriend, surnamed Chang. Also arrested were four accomplices, identified as Tsai Chien-shun, Huang Guan-chieh, Hung Ying-tzer and Wang Cheng hua, the spokesman said.
The six suspects will be prosecuted on charges of offenses relating to currency counterfeiting, as well as offenses relating to the counterfeiting of valuable securities.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=179 2008/10/9 An 18-member scam ring, which cheated more than 100 victims out of NT$20 million in a year, has been cracked, a spokesman for the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced yesterday.
All 18 suspects were rounded up in Taipei, Shulin and Chiayi on Thursday, the CIB spokesman said. Only the ring leader was identified by his family name of Lin.
Lin has a long criminal record.
During the raids on Thursday, NT$300,000 in cash was seized. Also seized were bank passbooks and bogus credit cards.
"Suspects often posed as public prosecutors and police officers to cheat the victims out of their money," the CIB spokesman said.
The suspects were arraigned before Taipei district prosecutors yesterday morning.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=180 2008/10/27 Police have cracked down on a gang of con artists whose victims include a renowned obstetrician who lost NT$20 million to their scam, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) have announced.
After the crackdown, the 72-year-old doctor, Chen Fu-min, chairman of Taipei's Chungshan Hospital, lamented that one of the suspects is a woman whose life he had saved, the United Evening News reported.
He was cited as claiming that the woman persuaded him to invest in various financial products that she said would promise huge returns, but the transactions were all faked.
The CIB nabbed the woman and several other members of the gang headed by Chang Yi-ching.
Chen said the woman wrote him a letter showing remorse following her arrest, the newspaper said. In the letter she claimed that the gang was run by a man, surnamed Deng, in China, and Chang was his deputy in Taiwan, the paper added.
Chang recently ran a newspaper ad denying that her company was involved in scams.
Chang said the company only provided investment consulting service, and Chen lost money in transactions through the overseas accounts he opened.
Chang said Chen's money did not go through her own or the company's accounts.
Chen's patients include former Vice President Lien Chan's wife, Fang Yu, and many other celebrities.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=178 2008/10/2 Five scam suspects were repatriated from China yesterday.
Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents took them under custody at Kinmen and brought them back to Taipei for further questioning.
They were identified as Wen Wu-jung, Lin Lung-hsien, Hsu Yu-bin, Lin Chun-jung and Yang Min-chief.
Their further identity was withheld.
All of them were charged with swindling money from some 200 victims in Taiwan, a CIB spokesman said.
They cheated the victims by telephone, the CIB official said. "They sold false identification cards," he added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=177 2008/10/2 CIB cracks down on power-stealing group

The China Post news staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said they have cracked down on a criminal ring that rigged power meters to cheat the Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) out of an estimated NT$100 million.
Che Chien-hung, who police say is the mastermind of the operation, was arrested by CIB operatives on charges of altering such devices at several textile businesses throughout the island in an illegal effort to cut down on costs.
The CIB also arrested three textile business owners, surnamed Tung, Chang, and Hu in connection with the case.
According to police, the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office received an anonymous tip of the criminal operation in June.
Upon further investigation, police uncovered that the rigged meters were in fact recording usage rates far lower than the actual amounts.
Tsai Fang-tsan, Taipower's deputy director of sales, said that the fact that there are people who cheat the electricity company is nothing new; what is important in this case is to figure out how the criminals were able alter the meters' reading mechanisms.
Tsai said that while they have not been able to determine the exact figure yet, they estimate that their losses from the scam could amount to at least NT$100 million.


CAPTION:

CNA

Tsai Fang-tsan, Taiwan Power Company deputy director of sales, shows a rigged power meter that was confiscated by Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) operatives, yesterday in Taipei County.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=130 2007/9/21 Taiwan teen arrested for operating illegal online game site

The China Post news staff

Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday took into custody a teenager suspected of running a profitable online game site on copied software and costing the original game operator NT$20 million (US$600,000) in lost revenues.
The suspect, surnamed Chen, 19, modeled his online game "iceRagnarok Online" after Game Flier International Corporation's "Ragnarok Online." The knockoff version had slight modifications, including easier point accumulation, different characters and accessories, and lower membership fees. Chen also made other bootlegged gaming software available on his website for illegal download.
According to the CIB, Chen took a year off from school because his parents could not afford to send him to college and started the online operation in March to help support his family. Chen was making an average of NT$40,000 (US$1,200) a month through his online site.
Chen told police that he was unaware that he had broken any laws in Taiwan because he had set up his server abroad. Chen added that the game site took on a life of its own, with a continuously growing subscriber base and increasing revenues.
The teenager expressed relief when the CIB closed down the site's operation because he can now concentrate on preparing for the start of school.
The case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation. The CIB said that although the exact infraction committed is yet determined, Chen's actions are still considered a crime because it involved an online violation. Setting up a server abroad or offering online games free of charge is no guarantee that laws have not been broken, the CIB reminded.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=129 2007/9/21 CIB arrests teenager over videogame infringement claim

The China Post news staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said they have arrested a teenager after an online game company claimed his Web site copied one of its games, causing the company to lose NT$20 million.
The suspect, surnamed Chen, 19, modelled his Web game, "iceRagnarok Online," after that of Game Flier International Corporation's "Ragnarok Online," said CIB investigators.
The case has been forwarded to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for further investigation.
Chen's version had only slight modifications, such as an easier point accumulation system, as well as different characters and accessories. And membership was less expensive than Game Flier's.
Police investigation also uncovered that Chen illegally provided online gamers with gaming software, which was available to download on his Web site.
According to the CIB, Chen had taken a year off from school because his family could not afford to send him to college. The suspect started the online game operation in March to help out with the family finances, raking in an average of NT$40,000 a month.
Chen told police that he was not aware that he had committed any crime in the country, as he had set up his server abroad. As the number of game subscribers to his Web site continued to increase and the money kept coming in, he did not know how to pull the site down.
The teenager also said he was actually relieved that the CIB has effectively put an end to the site's operation, so he can now concentrate on preparing for the start of school.
The CIB said that even though it is difficult to determine the exact infraction committed in this case, because it involves an online violation, it is still considered a crime. Many people mistakenly think they are not committing a crime because either they set up a server abroad, or because they do not charge gamers a fee, pointed out the CIB.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=128 2007/9/21 Fraud operations cost Taiwan NT$80 mil. weekly: CIB

The China Post staff

Every week, fraudulent operations in the country scam over NT$80 million from the public, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Most victims of such scams are stay-at-home mothers and senior citizens over 60 years of age, according to the National Police Agency's "165 Anti-fraud hotline."
In order to combat this problem, the NPA has published the "165 Anti-fraud Booklet" which educates the public on the ten most common forms of fraud in the country. A total of 150,000 booklets will be distributed by every police station to the public free of charge.
"The ten most common scams include false government notices, gas safety home inspections, prize winnings, online purchases, kidnappings, ATM withdrawals, and mortgage payments," said Chang Chin-lan, the CIB police officer in charged of editing and compiling the booklet.
The NPA works tirelessly to prevent and stop fraud in the country via public notices on television and other media outlets, but this is not always enough as many often remain uninformed, noted the officer.
The NPA has therefore spent NT$1.1 million on the booklets in an effort to further strengthen its anti-fraud operations, and particularly with the aim to reach those in the "high risk" group of being defrauded, including elderly citizens and stay-at-home mothers, who might not be aware of this serious problem, added Chang.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=127 2007/9/21 Two men arrested with AK-47 rifles

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said they have arrested two alleged gangsters for illegal possession of arms.
The suspects, Chang Chih-chie and Wang Yi-hsiang, were nabbed at their Luchou City apartment in Taipei County. CIB operatives confiscated several weapons, including AK-47 assault rifles.
Chang and Wang have been transferred to the Shilin District Prosecutor's Office for further investigation into the source of the weapons.
According to sources who tipped the CIB, both suspects are gangsters who guard popular night clubs in the greater Taipei area.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=126 2007/9/20 Hsinchu prostitution ring smashed

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said they have cracked down on Hsinchu area's largest Chinese-female prostitution ring.
The CIB in collaboration with Hsinchu City police arrested 11 suspects in connection with the ring on Friday. Three members were arrested for human smuggling, three more were pimps, and five were prostitutes.
Police confiscated on the scene ring-related evidence, including condoms, client account information, and over NT$100,000 in ill-obtained funds.
According to police investigation, the ring's leader, a divorced woman surnamed Wu, worked in conjunction with the human traffickers, surnamed Cheng and Chen, to trick the mainland women into prostitution.
To attract clients, the prostitution ring, named "Peierh," worked on a "satisfaction guaranteed" basis. Clients were told they only had to pay afterwards if they were satisfied, said police.
To avoid being caught, the women received their clientele at different places in Hsinchu City and County. The ring would also make "house calls" and drive the prostitutes to a pre-designated place or to the client's home if requested.
The ring charged NT$2,500 per session, out of which the Chinese women received only NT$1,000. The women also had to pay their fake Taiwanese husbands a monthly fee an amount in the tens of thousands, said police.
The entire case has been forwarded to the Hsinchu District Court on charges including being a threat to public morality and personal freedom.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=124 2007/9/20 Police were able to identify three of the suspects, surnamed Yen, Chen, and Hsu, from video surveillance tapes at one of the crime sites.
In addition to stealing power cables, the ring also stole guard rails. Their main items of choice were Taiwan Power Company (Taipower) cables.
According to the CIB, the ring started their criminal operations at the end of last year.
The suspects were as bold as to return and steal from some of the same sites three or four times, said police.
They used special gadgets that allowed them to move fast. Two suspects could steal up to 250 kilograms of titanium guard railing in half an hour, said police.
Police discovered over 100 kilograms in Taipower cables and wiring at a recycling factory in Kaohsiung County.
The suspects were transferred yesterday to the Tainan County District Prosecutor's Office.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=108 2007/7/4 Police honed in on Chiu Jui-chien, the alleged ring leader, Chiu Wen-shen, Liu Yi-cheng, and the others in different locations throughout Taipei City, Taipei County, and Taichung County.
Several cell phones, credit cards, account information, and over NT$850,000 in illegal funds were confiscated in the bust.
The suspects placed phone calls pretending to represent legitimate companies and notified unsuspecting victims of fake prize winnings or uncollected funds, said the CIB.
The ring operated within the confines of the Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system, taking advantage of the moving cars to place their calls so as to prevent them from being traced.
One of the crime ring's victims, a retiree surnamed Chang, was cheated of over NT$5 million.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=107 2007/7/4 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday said they have cracked down on Hsinchu area's largest Chinese-female prostitution ring.
The CIB in collaboration with Hsinchu City police arrested 11 suspects in connection with the ring on Friday. Three members were arrested for human smuggling, three more were pimps, and five were prostitutes.
Police confiscated on the scene ring-related evidence, including condoms, client account information, and over NT$100,000 in ill-obtained funds.
According to police investigation, the ring's leader, a divorced woman surnamed Wu, worked in conjunction with the human traffickers, surnamed Cheng and Chen, to trick the mainland women into prostitution.
To attract clients, the prostitution ring, named "Peierh," worked on a "satisfaction guaranteed" basis. Clients were told they only had to pay afterwards if they were satisfied, said police.
To avoid being caught, the women received their clientele at different places in Hsinchu City and County. The ring would also make "house calls" and drive the prostitutes to a pre-designated place or to the client's home if requested.
The ring charged NT$2,500 per session, out of which the Chinese women received only NT$1,000. The women also had to pay their fake Taiwanese husbands a monthly fee an amount in the tens of thousands, said police.
The entire case has been forwarded to the Hsinchu District Court on charges including being a threat to public morality and personal freedom.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=123 2007/7/30 The move is a response to the 10,969 prison inmates, most of them serving sentences for minor offenses involving narcotics, theft or fraud, recently released under the said statute.
In order to prevent the released inmates from challenging the government power and committing again similar crimes, the CIB and the NPA have instructed all local county and city police stations to monitor the released people, block the channels for thieves to unload their thefts effectively and conduct random-inspections of night-time recreational attractions.
The police stations will also make all-out efforts to crack down other major crime cases, including thefts, burglaries, telecommunication swindles and illegal trading of babies and children.
Meanwhile, the CIB has proposed that the Cabinet-level Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) revise the Banking Act to authorize financial institutions to freeze accounts witnessed with abnormal transaction records, so as to forestall criminals from swindling money from local residents.
Furthermore, the police will also increase efforts to deal with fraud cases reported by local residents and suspend the phone numbers adopted by suspected-gangsters to carry out their money-swindling schemes.
CIB officials said that based on the statistics compiled by the bureau, the domestic social order still shows no signs of worsening. But following the massive release of prison inmates, the police will do its best to bring down the number of crime cases and ease the worry of local people over the possible adverse impact of the release under the sentence commutation statute.
The commutation follows a proposal by President Chen Shui-bian on April 24 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the 2-28 Incident of 1947 and the 20th anniversary of the lifting of 38 years of martial law in 1987 with a broad-based commutation of sentences.
An estimated total of 25,000 prisoners with sentences passed down before April 24 will benefit from the commutation. The inmates freed or to be released are serving sentences for petty crimes or minor transgressions.
Inmates convicted of serious offenses such as kidnapping, sexual offenses against children and women, homicide, major financial crimes, corruption and violations of National Security Law are ineligible for sentence commutation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=122 2007/7/30 More than 70 policemen from Taichung City and nearby Yunlin County stormed the Web site's headquarters Thursday, seizing its equipment -- including more than 100 computers and LCD monitors -- and arresting 13 workers and shareholders.
According to the initial police investigation, the gambling Web site was operated from the central area under the facade of a high-tech company.
In fact, the criminal ring ran an illegal sports Web site which attracted gamblers to bet on local and international basketball and baseball matches, with stakes as high as NT$300 million (US$9.15 million) per day, said police.
Some 50 bookies were linked to the Web site, which had more than 1,000 members -- making it one of the largest online gambling Web sites in central Taiwan.
Police estimated the Web site may have chalked up profits of over NT$200 million since its launch earlier this year.
Police said that more accomplices might be involved in the operation, and have started an in-depth probe to apprehend members of the ring who remain at large.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=121 2007/7/18 Huang Tian-tsung, 40, Wang Ya-ling, 29, and Li Hui-liang, 42, were arrested for allegedly managing the gambling ring's three establishments.
CIB operatives confiscated computers, fax machines, mobile phones, and other equipment used in the gambling joints.
Initial investigation indicates the illegal haunts were frequented by about 100 people daily, and the gambling operation had made over NT$10 million.
The criminals made use of sports gambling Web sites and took bets at NT$10,000 each. Each of the betting stands received about NT$400,000 in bets daily, said the CIB.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=120 2007/7/16 The two suspects, Chen Hsing-hung and Chen Kuo-hui were detained by CIB agents Wednesday in Kaohsiung after their true identities were revealed by the National Security Bureau (NSB).
The pair admitted to having disguised themselves as NSB officials and using name cards with titles such as "national security" and "deputy secretary general" during a meeting with the EPA secretary-general, during which they tried to pressure EPA personnel to agree to extend their mining rights.
The two men falsely claimed to be shareholders of a mining company registered in Kaohsiung County, and pressured officials to allow the company to continue operations despite holding a license that expired in January.
The NSB was tipped earlier by Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) officials who said the suspects acted in a "fishy" manner.
Police handed over relevant documents along with the two suspects to the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office for further investigation on charges of violating the Criminal Code.
According to initial police investigation, Chen Hsing-hung is actually a deputy secretary-general of a political party named the "China National Security Party, " but earns his living by running a soup noodle shop.
Police said that they suspect Chen Hsing-hung might be involved in number of cases in which he has posed as a national security official.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=119 2007/7/16 The CIB said they have recently cracked down on a criminal operation where junior high students working part-time at a gas station were paid NT$100 per credit card number information provided.
The students forwarded the stolen information to their classmate, surnamed Fan, who then turned the data over to a fraud operation.
Another "get rich quick" scheme that the CIB warned the public about are companies that post job openings that promise a "high salary exceeding NT$100,000 a month." When interested applicants ask about the position, they are told that they must first buy the companies' products.
Some job-seekers are so desperate to find a job that they agree to purchase the products, sometimes even running a bill of over NT$100,000. When they ask for a refund later, their requests are turned down.
In recent years, such fraudulent schemes are getting more and more creative, which makes them harder to spot, said the CIB.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=118 2007/7/16 Police confiscated two weapons, NT$74,000 in cash, 28 savings passbooks, 26 credit cards, and 27 cellular phones upon Wednesday's arrest in southern Tainan County.
The criminal ring was based in China, but also counted with several locations in Taiwan including the cities of Taoyuan, Pingcheng, Chungli, and the counties of Taichung, Changhua, and Tainan.
Police from CIB's southern branch were first tipped off in February of the ring's fraudulent operations.
The leader of the gang, nicknamed "A-cheng," worked out China's Xiamen City. He placed false phone calls to victims with a variety of cons such as telling them they won the lottery, or their credit card had been stolen. "A-cheng" is still on the run, said police.
Other methods that the criminals used to defraud their victims included false online sales, and false online dating set-ups.
One of the victims, a young man from a wealthy Taiwanese family, was cheated out of NT$7 million. He paid the amount to an online dating service that was run by the fraud ring.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=117 2007/7/16 Liu Lin-ying, 55, Ying Hai-jui, 52, Chen Hsu-yi, 48, Chen Su-ching, 51, Chen Yen-hsin, 25, Lin Hsiao-chuan, 36, Chuang Chiung-ming, 38, and Chu Chih-hsing, 56 were nabbed on Tuesday by CIB operatives in Taipei, Yilan, Taichung, and Kaohsiung.
Police confiscated NT$140,000 in ill-obtained funds, cell phones, savings passbooks, 100 bottles of propolis, 150 bottles of royal jelly, and other bee-derived natural supplements.
The criminal ring was based in Taipei City's Wanhua District, but also had central, eastern, and southern branch offices.
The con-artists started operations in March, and in less than three months had already conned over 500 people, most of whom were housewives, said police.
According to the CIB, the suspects allegedly gave away the bee products to new members in exchange of having them recruit another member.
In order to attract new members, the victims were told that the fraud ring's natural supplements are derived from bees and royal jelly and had the power to cure diabetes, obesity, digestive problems, high blood pressure, and even had rejuvenating properties.
Conned victims were also told that for every member they recruited they would receive a referral fee.
But new recruits who paid their membership fees which entitled them to sell the products in Taiwan soon found out that the contact number of the natural supplement company's headquarters in China was false.
In April, suspects told some of the victims that their company assets in China had been frozen and were not able to pay out the referral fees.
The suspects went as far as saying the products had been endorsed by Chinese President Hu Jintao to lure new members. In reality, the products had been mailed from Xiamen City in China, bypassing health inspections completely and therefore posing a health risk, said police.
The case has been forwarded to the District Prosecutor's Office, which will carry out further investigation on additional suspects and victims.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=116 2007/7/16 Chou Chao-tsai, 59, Lu Chien-chih, 32, Liu Ching-yun, 35, and Su Hsin-yu, 39, were arrested Wednesday in Kaohsiung County's Luchou Township.
Police found over 2,000 kilograms of diseased pork meat, slaughtering tools, a freezer and a small cargo truck at the scene.
Liu is the only one that confessed to his crime, while the other three denied any wrongdoing and said they were unaware that the meat came from pigs who died from sickness, said the CIB.
Initial investigation uncovered that the suspects killed a surplus of 2,000 pigs in a year, which made them over NT$1 million.
The CIB said Lu and Chou drove around in a legally-obtained cargo truck from the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), with which they picked up recently-dead pigs from several southern pig farmers looking to dispose of the pigs.
The suspects offered the waste collecting services for a low for a low price of about NT$100 to NT$200.
Lu and Chou then sold the dead pigs to Liu for about NT$500 to NT$1,000. Liu then hid them in an illegal storage facility located in southern Kaohsiung County.
Liu, Lu and Chou then mixed the dead pork with regular pork at the storage facility, or sold it at a low price to Su, who owned a pork product factory.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=115 2007/7/16 Criminal Investigation Bureau agents and Taoyuan County police questioned the preacher, Tang Tai-sheng, along with eight female church workers on Wednesday who are being accused of sexually assaulting a female church member.
The church member, a female college student, reported to police one month ago that one of the female church workers had led her to Tang's office where they displayed sexual positions to her.
Tang denied the charges to police.
Also, according to Criminal Investigation Bureau agents, ten female members of the church claimed that they were fondled by female church workers at Tang's church.
All of the female church workers questioned by police on Wednesday told reporters that they were innocent and that Tang was also innocent of sexual assault charges.
Tang was convicted of sexual assault in 2004 after an underaged female church member refused to his accept the so called "sexual counseling" as claimed by Tang.
The verdict was overturned in the second trial but Tang was ultimately convicted in the third trial after protests by women's groups.
Police also found after investigating the underage church member's claims that several other female church members had also been the target of Tang's overtures for a period of ten years.
Tang served his sentence and was released in 2005.
Meanwhile, Tang has pressed charges against the female college student for defamation and for spreading accusations against the preacher and the church on the Internet.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=114 2007/7/16 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested six suspects in connection with a fraud ring that made over NT$50 million in illegal funds.
Police said the main suspect, surnamed Chan, 28, led a 14-member con operation that allegedly tricked victims into thinking that their identities had been stolen. The victims were then told to transfer all the money in their accounts to a "safe" pre-determined account.
The suspects worked round-the-clock to withdraw the money transferred into the accounts by the unsuspecting targets.
Often the suspects learned of their victims' identities and personal information via online chat rooms while pretending to be interested in the victims or in becoming their friends.
The CIB collaborated with Taipei City and Ilan County police to crack down on the ring, which made use of automated teller machines (ATM) mainly in the Taipei and Taoyuan areas.
All the suspects have been transferred to the Taoyuan District Prosecutor's Office for further investigation.
According to police, Chan is a homosexual who had trouble finding a job because of his sexual preference.
Chan recruited his lover and members from his circle of friends which included other homosexuals to form the criminal group.
Initial investigation discovered that most of the victims were single male college students and high-tech workers who numbered in the hundreds.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=113 2007/7/16 The employees, surnamed Lin and Chou, told police that they had stolen the data of more than 200 credit cards belonging to motorists who had come to fill up their cars at the gas station in Hukou in the northern county.
They sold the data to a former junior high school classmate, surnamed Fang, who after his arrest, said he was employed to collect the data by a friend nicknamed "Jung Ko," CIB officials said.
The gas station employees said they sold the data of each credit card for NT$100, but they had so far received only NT$4,000.
They said Jung Ko would refuse to pay when online transactions using the stolen data were rejected.
The CIB started a probe after receiving reports from banks which indicated that a few dozen of their credit card holders had recently refused to recognize some online transactions.
CIB found that the transactions were mostly related to purchasing of online gaming credits and it traced the source of stolen data to the Hukou gas station.
The gas station owner agreed to monitor its employees, the CIB said. When Lin and Chou were allegedly stealing credit card data at midnight, June 11, the owner alerted police, who then took action, the CIB added.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=112 2007/7/16 The alleged ringleader was Chou Kuo-an, 37, while Huang Chun-chieh, 30, was the server operator.
Chou, Huang, and seven others were arrested by CIB operatives in collaboration with Taoyuan County police in parts of Hsinchuan City and Taipei County.
The suspects have been transferred to the Panchiao District Court Office, said the CIB.
Police confiscated 17 computer servers, each valued at around NT$400,000, and other computer equipment, as well as account information of the gambling website's members.
Days earlier, the CIB was tipped off on a gambling ring that received illegal bets in the amount of tens of millions NT dollars on a weekly basis.
The ring ran a variety of gambling websites including illegal sports gambling sites.
The criminal operation was run with a clearly differentiated four-tiered management system, starting from company headquarters to chief agents to regional agents and local agents.
The various agents were employed throughout the country and were in charge of recruiting new members, who placed their bets via the local agents. The local agents worked on commission. The CIB had previously been alerted of some of the ring's illegal sports gambling sites, such as "Dr. B," "E Post Office," and "Big Sports," which took advantage of the popularity of Yankees' baseball pitcher Wang Chien-ming, a Taiwanese native, to run their unlawful betting business.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=111 2007/7/10 CIB investigation uncovered that envelopes containing a bullet sent to murdered Taipei County Councilor Wu Shan-chiu and Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Hsieh Hsin-ni and independent legislator Lee Ao were all mailed on May 25.
Wu, 49, a councilor with the People First Party, was shot several times in his office in Xindian City on May 23.
The envelopes contained the same type of bullets and were addressed with the same pen. The computer-typed letters contained inside also displayed the same font, said police.
In Wu's envelope, a note read, "You cannot control everything." However, as the envelope was sent to Wu post-mortem, police said it was likely that the sender was not serious about the threat.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=110 2007/7/10 The three suspects, identified only by their surnames of Hu, Chen and Yeh, mainly auctioned counterfeited memory chips, batteries and cellphone components at low prices, the CIB said.
The suspects were handed over to the Panchiao branch of Taipei District Prosecutor's Office on Thursday on charges of infringement of the Trademark Law.
According to the CIB, the suspects sold fake products involving brands such as Nokia, Motorola and Samsung.
They transferred orders to suppliers in China, from where the goods were delivered via postal delivery. They earned a commission for each order they placed with Chinese providers.
Acting on tip-offs by online buyers who claimed to have been cheated, police raided the suspects' offices and warehouses in Taipei, Changhua and Yunlin counties, and seized more than 1,000 items of fake name-brand goods fabricated in China.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=109 2007/7/10
Criminal Investigation Bureau is warning people about Internet dating after a Taipei graduate student meeting a date found on the Internet was conned out of NT$200,000 and listed by police as a fraud suspect.
A male Taipei graduate student was meeting a date he had found on the Internet when he received a phone call from a woman telling him to first transfer funds from his bank account through the ATM machine.
The student proceeded to transfer his funds through the ATM machine eight times for a total of some NT$200,000.
After all the funds in his bank account had been emptied, a man told the student through the phone to mail his account book and name chop to an address.
The student realized after mailing his account book and name chop that he had fallen for a fraud scheme.
He was later listed as a fraud suspect by CIB as his name and account were found to be used in a number of fraud operations.
CIB mentioned another case of a student listed as a suspect after unknowingly mailing out his account book.
That college student was required to appear for questioning in district prosecutor's offices in Taipei, Taichung, and Tainan.
CIB is warning the public to beware of fraud schemes under the guise of Internet dating and call fraud prevention number 165 when suspecting possible fraud
Also, people should not hand out or mail out their account books or name chops to strangers and should report to police if they discover that they have fallen for a fraud scheme.
Schools are urged to promote vigilance among their students, while CIB warns of fraud schemes asking for people's account books and name chops under the guise of "ATM operation error" or "loan collateral verification.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=106 2007/5/3
Copper power cable theft ring busted

The China Post staff

Seven suspects in a criminal ring were arrested in connection with the theft of over 12,000 kilograms of copper power cables, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
Police recovered the cables on Thursday following the arrest of three suspects as they were trying to sell the stolen material to a recycling plant in Taipei City's Neihu District.
According to CIB officials, to avoid being discovered, two of the suspects, surnamed Li and Chen, would commit the crime during late night hours in complete darkness; they were even hospitalized following a car accident in Keelung City.
The CIB said they were first alerted of the criminal group after they arrested Li last October in connection with an illegal drug ring.
They later discovered that Li was also involved with the cable thieves, who in turn stole cables to raise funds for purchasing the illegal drugs from Li.
The cable burglars operated in the greater Taipei area, including Keelung, Hsintien, Hsichih, and Juifang, stealing copper wire from Taipei Power Company cables.
After cutting off the power, the suspects cut the cables, and transported them back to several remote mountainous locations scattered around Keelung City where they separated the copper wire from the rubber wrap with a wire extracting device.
When they had collected a certain amount, Chen then sold the stolen wire to the recycling plant in Neihu District.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=105 2007/4/25 Travel agency exec booked for selling leopard skin: CIB

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced yesterday the booking of a Taipei travel agency executive for selling leopard skin and other animal coats on the Internet.
CIB officials said they found Lee Shu-chun, 44, soliciting customers for leopard skin for NT$188,000 per piece on the Internet.
Disguised as potential buyers, the police officers asked to personally inspect the products to ensure they were genuine.
Lee, an assistant manager at Southeast Tour (SET), was booked after he took out two pieces of leopard skin from his car at an underground parking lot on Section 2 of Zhongshan North Road. His products were confiscated.
CIB officials said Lee has violated the nation's wildlife conservation and protection regulations for selling the leopard skin, which came with stuffed heads.
This could be the first case in which someone was busted for peddling protected animal products on the Internet in Taiwan.
Lee admitted that he brought back some killed and stuffed animals and animal coats from overseas trips, including those to South Africa.
But a financial pinch prompted him to convert some of his collections into cash, he said.
A senior executive at SET said Lee was known to have the hobby of collecting a wide variety of artifacts and other products.
He stressed that Lee's selling products of protected animals was his individual conduct and has no relation with the company.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=104 2007/4/24 CIB uncover big haul of illegal drugs from China

The China Post staff

Police confiscated 34 kilograms of amphetamines, 130 kilograms of ketamine, and about 280,000 Ecstasy pills in one of the country's biggest drug-trafficking cases, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
In a joint operation by Taipei district prosecutors, police, and the coast guard, six suspects were arrested in connection with a ring that smuggled the illegal drugs from China via fishing boats and containers.
Police confiscated the contraband Thursday night from a Keelung City apartment, which the main suspect, surnamed Chang, had rented as a storage place for the drugs.
According to police investigation, the criminal ring smuggled drugs into the country on three separate occasions since this January.
Another suspect surnamed Huang used an aquarium store as a front to distribute the drugs.
Chang's cousin, surnamed Hsu, set up a false trading company that he used to transfer the ring's close to NT$100 million in illegal profits back to China.
According to police, Chang controlled the ring's operations from China, where he fled to following a previous conviction for drug trafficking.
Members of the Panchiao branch of the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office were first tipped off several months ago on the ring's operations.
Further investigation is being conducted to determine the scope of the ring, as well as the source of the drugs.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=103 2007/4/18 Phone-fraud ring that raked in NT$1 billion busted

The China Post staff

Police cracked down on a criminal ring that made over NT$1 billion from phone fraud, arresting eight suspects, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
According to the CIB, the suspects placed calls to unsuspecting victims who were told that they had won prizes, that their children had been kidnapped or their identities had been stolen, among other cons.
A total of 117 mobile units were confiscated in connection with a large-scale phone fraud operation responsible for 20 to 25 percent of such criminal cases in the country.
Three suspects were caught on Thursday in Taichung and five others in Tainan.
Police said that all mobile as well as certain home numbers have the option of rejecting phone calls from unknown numbers, and urged the public to apply for this option with their service providers to avoid being the victim of phone fraud.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=102 2007/4/18
A suspected mastermind behind a NT$56 million cash heist that occurred in Taipei in early January, who was nabbed in Guangzhou last month, was repatriated back to Taiwan via Macao yesterday afternoon, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
The arrest of the suspect, identified as Liu Wen-lung, will help the CIB effectively locate the whereabouts of some NT$40 million in cash that is still missing. So far, the police has recovered some NT$15 million in money robbed by a criminal gang.
Liu was suspected of arranging the laundry channels for some NT$30 million in robbed money. He used to operate a night club in Guangzhou and made acquaintances with another two suspects, Lee Hang-yang, 45, and his younger brother Lee Chin-tsan, when he returned to Taiwan late last year.
Just one month earlier, the two brothers were deported from China and repatriated to Taiwan.
So far, eight people suspected of involvement in the Jan. 2 bank heist, were referred by police to the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office for interrogation.
Of them, Lee Han-yang, the driver of an armored van for Group 4 Securicor, a private security firm in Taipei, allegedly drugged his colleague and made off with NT$56 million on Jan. 2, and immediately fled to China after the heist.
The other suspects were identified as Chiu Wei-sheng, who allegedly came to Lee Hang-yang's aid after Lee made off with the huge sum of cash; Lin Shih-teh, who allegedly provided a place for Lee and the other accomplices to hide out after the heist; Liu Chien-ho and Wu Kun-mu, who allegedly channeled some of the cash into China via underground money exchange channels; and Lee Hsun-ming, who knew of the plot beforehand.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=92 2007/3/7 Three mainland women rescued from trafficking ring

The China Post staff

Three women native to China's Guizhou province were rescued by local police from a human trafficking ring that forced the women into prostitution, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
Police cracked down on the human trafficking ring on Monday, arresting 12 suspects in northern Chungli and Yilan counties.
Over the past six months the women had been in Taiwan, they were forced to see clients a combined total of over 1,000 times, CIB officials said.
One of the women, surnamed Ho, was underage when she arrived in Taiwan. Police said Ho had been forced to tend to clients over 300 times.
At the time police rescued the women, none of them had any money on them.
The CIB said they were first tipped off about the case towards the end of last year when they heard about an Yilan County establishment that offered "young Guizhou women."
Further investigation revealed that a member of a criminal ring from Guangdong was the one who met the women in Guizhou.
He told the naive women that all they had to do was keep clients company at night clubs, and that they did not need any work experience.
Those who accepted the offer were then flown to Fuzhou province, where they were then smuggled by boat to the outlying island county of Penghu and then flown into Taiwan.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=101 2007/3/30 Cross-strait con group selling fakes arrested

The China Post staff

A cross-strait con group that allegedly cheated some 600 people out of NT$2.8 million through online auction sales of fake brand name goods has been arrested, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
Police arrested a woman, surnamed Chen, 56, and two men, surnamed Chen, 35, and Yang, 45, days earlier in Taichung and Changhua in connection with the fraud case.
A fourth member, surnamed Hsieh, was simultaneously arrested by police in China, along with two other Chinese nationals who operated from the mainland.
According to the CIB, the group posted advertisements for inexpensive items from name-brands such as Coach and Gucci, which were in reality fake.
Hsieh is believed by police to be the leader of the con operation.
The suspects started auctioning off their brand-name items in June of last year, filling out orders responsibly at first in order to gain their clients' trust.
Their con was believable to the extent that they were even able to post links to some of the name-brands' official Web sites, said the CIB.
The female Chen was in charge of customer service for Taiwanese clients, including taking care of orders and returns, said police.
She was also in charge of transferring the illicit funds to Hsieh in China, where the money was then withdrawn in the local currency.
This money laundering method made it difficult for police to track the funds.
All members of the con group have been handed over to the court and await trial.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=100 2007/3/29
Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers have arrested two sisters who stole the credit card numbers of customers at gas stations and sold them to a card pirate syndicate.
The CIB officials said yesterday the two sisters are both university coeds who work part time at gas stations.
After being approached by a group of credit card fraudsters, the duo agreed to copy customers' card numbers and sold them to the ring at a price of NT$200 to NT$300 each.
However, the ring did not pay them as promised but instead used the numbers to produce fake cards in mainland China for shopping sprees via the Internet.
The two sisters will be charged with fraud and forgery, the officials said.
They called for heightened caution on the part of working students as criminals have been using the Internet to recruit young people with the empty promise of "lucrative payment".
All young people should resist the temptation to become accomplices of criminal organizations and avoid legal troubles, the CIB said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=99 2007/3/28 The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced yesterday the busting of a counterfeit operation that sold fake canvas shoes made in China through an online shopping store.
CIB officials said the syndicate, based in the Wanhua District of Taipei City, was formed by a family of four headed by Chiu Yu-jen.
The group imported counterfeit shoes with Converse's "All Star" brand from China and then sold them at lower prices via a virtual store on the Yahoo! Kimo auction Web site.
The CIB and Taipei police started investigating the case after receiving complaints from customers who said they have paid money with credit cards but never received the products.
Some others said they did receive the canvas shoes but they are in wrong sizes, different colors or wrong volumes.
More than 1,000 people have fallen victim to the scheme with loss amounting to around NT$1 million in the past three months.
The officials encouraged consumers to report all similar cases to law enforcement agents to help more people avoid falling into same trap.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=98 2007/3/28 Eight arrested for 'pigeon-napping'

The China Post staff

Eight people, including two women, were rounded up in Tainan and Pingtung yesterday on charges of abducting hundreds of homing pigeons.
Agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) identified Lu Kuo-sheng, 43, of Kaohsiung, as the head of the "pigeon-napping" ring, that had extorted at least NT$5 million from over 500 owners over the past five months.
They identified the two women suspects as Shih Wei-ya, 28, and Weng Hsiu-ching, 32, both of Tainan.
The other suspects, arrested in Pingtung, were Piao Chin-cheng, 43; Pan Chien-cheng, 38; Chen Chien-liang, 49; Lin Hsun-ti, 50; and Chen Seng-yu, 33.
Lu had his ring members set up net traps in hills in the two southern Taiwan counties to catch racing pigeons, whose leg rings helped them to track down the owners.
Ransoms, ranging from NT$5,000 to NT$50,000, were demanded. When owners refused to pay, the pigeon-nappers would kill the birds and eat them, CIB agents said.
CIB agents recovered 60 homing pigeons in the roundup of the extortion suspects.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=97 2007/3/22 S. Korea sends police to Taiwan in joint anti-fraud campaign

The China Post staff

South Korean police will send officers to Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) in a joint campaign against cross-border fraud, a CIB official said yesterday.
The CIB on March 15 arrested two Taiwanese men at the Taoyuan International Airport after the pair flew back from South Korea, where they had allegedly taught fraud skills to criminals there, the officials said.
The two suspects allegedly worked for Chinese fraud rings that operate by stealing victims' personal information and then withdrawing money from their bank accounts.
South Korean police have arrested dozens of Taiwanese connected to fraud rings since the beginning of this year, the official said.
The official said South Korea is stepping up efforts fighting cross-border fraud, as more and more of its people have become victims.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=96 2007/3/22 CIB arrest three private investigators

The China Post staff

Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested three private investigators for stealing personal information belonging to some four thousand individuals, including health insurance and residency registration identification numbers and phone records.
The group told police that they have sold the personal information acquired since 2005 for profits totaling close to NT$1 billion.
The CIB investigators were tipped off by reports that a Chunghwa Telecom worker in Hualien had given out customer information through the phone to a person claiming to be a Chunghwa Telecom worker from another office.
The suspects paid some NT$2,500 to NT$8,000 for a single piece of information, including phone numbers, residency registration numbers, and lists of doctor's clients. Phone records, in particular, fetch some NT$25,000 to NT$30,000, CIB officials said.
Four others were also arrested yesterday for collaborating to steal personal information, including a manager of a Chunghwa Telecom office in southern Taiwan.
Police suspect the involvement of other fraudulent operations that may be using personal information purchased from the suspects and are continuing their investigation.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=95 2007/3/14 Four Louis Vuitton handbag thieves caught, one remains at large

The China Post staff

Four of the main suspects involved in last year's robbery of the Louis Vuitton flagship store in Taichung have been caught while one more remains at large, said the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday.
Huang Hsiung-chang, 45, Liao Yu-li, 51, Kung Chao-hai, 50, and Lin Kuo-yu, 44, were caught on Tuesday in connection with last November's robbery of the luxury goods store. Police are looking for one more suspect, Tu Ching-tsung, 49.
The four suspects are members of the same criminal gang, and were caught after three months of wire tapping and collaboration by Kaohsiung police.
The group is believed to be responsible for a series of robberies in central and southern Taiwan, where the suspects allegedly stole a total of about NT$50 million in merchandise from about ten upscale stores, according to the CIB.
All the stolen items from the Louis Vuitton store were sold in the black market by Huang and Liao, except for a handbag that Liao, the only female in the group, kept for herself.
Huang and the others used high-tech equipment which allowed them to crack open doors within seconds, said the CIB.
Police were able to recover some of the criminal group's stolen items, including brand-name cosmetics, accessories, clothing, and other luxury products.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=94 2007/3/13 CIB busts human trafficking ring

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) on Tuesday busted a organized human smuggling operation which forced women from mainland China into prostitution across the greater Taipei area, the CIB announced yesterday.
CIB agents arrested three men and five women in Taipei County on Tuesday after being tipped off on the human smuggling operation late last year.
CIB said that the operation acted behind the front of a corporation named "Yiu Chia Li" in Taiwan to solicit men to engage in prostitution.
Mainland women who were told to enter into false marriages with Taiwan men in mainland China were brought into Taiwan on grounds of joining their husbands.
The highly organized operation collects a fee from the women for brokering the false marriages while paying for Taiwan men who are willing to use their names in the marriage documents.
The culprits then will operate under arrangement with hotels to locate its customers or directly send the women to the customer's residences.
The women were forced to give up all their earnings to the human smugglers who the CIB said had netted over NT$10 million over eight years.
Reports said that close to one thousand women engaged in illicit acts with Taiwan men in the operation including township councilors in the Taipei area.
On Tuesday, 40 police officers raided six locations across Taipei County and arrested five mainland women along with three men: Wang Lien-yi, Chang Chih-chang, and Wang Pao-shen.
CIB are still looking for the mastermind of the operation surnamed Tsan and his female accomplice who was in charge of communicating with hotels.
CIB warned that mainland women entering into prostitution in Taiwan has become a growing problem in Taiwan and that the bureau will list human smuggling as its top priority.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=93 2007/3/13 Lee Han-yang and his younger brother Lee Chin-tsan were handed over to Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents in Matsu yesterday from mainland and Taiwan Red Cross Society officials, in accordance to the Kinmen Agreement signed in 1991.
Lee Han-yang, an armored van driver for a private security company, is suspected of making off with NT$56 million in cash after drugging his colleague on January 2.
He immediately fled to China to join his brother Lee Chin-tsan, also an accomplice in the case, only to be arrested by mainland police one week later along with his brother in Yunnan Province.
Taiwan police said yesterday that although they did not find Lee's stash on him, they believe that it still remains somewhere inside Taiwan's borders.
Police yesterday also made four arrests in northern and southern Taiwan in connection to the bank robbery and are pursuing a key accomplice suspected of hiding some of Lee Han-yang's cash.
Criminal Investigation Bureau commissioner Huang Mao-sui yesterday at a press conference thanked the mainland police for their support and hailed the repatriation as a successful case of crime fighting by both sides of the strait.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=91 2007/2/2 American visitor conned out of NT$12.2 mil.

The China Post news staff

A female United States resident was cheated out of NT$12.2 million (US$370,000) by a phone fraud operation when she visited relatives in Taiwan last month, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday.
The victim, surnamed Lee, received a fraudulent call from someone claiming to be from the Taipei District Prosecutor's Office. According to the CIB, the caller informed Lee that she had been the victim of a fraud that would prevent her from leaving the island. The con artist then instructed the victim to transfer money to a special account so that the "prosecutor's office" could monitor her funds and stop the alleged illegal activities, which Lee complied.
A week after the initial transfer, the crime ring called the victim again and instructed her to transfer all of the NT$5 million in her U.S. bank account as well, instructions which the victim followed.
The victim's bank noticed the suspicious activity and notified the police. According to the CID, however, the victim "repeatedly" refused to take initial calls from the police. CID reports revealed that when investigators finally reached Lee on the phone and questioned her about the large wire transfers, Lee replied that "it was nothing, just some investments" and thanked them for their concern.
It was not until investigators called again and spent over four hours detailing the case details that Lee realized she had been the victim of phone fraud.
According to CID reports, Lee was a member of the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation and had immigrated to the United States 25 years ago with her husband and children. Lee owned a number of small businesses, including a laundry operation, and was financially well off.
CID said that despite her frequent visits to Taiwan, Lee was unaware of fraud operations on the island. Lee because an ideal target after the con artists "brain-washed" her to not discuss the matter with anyone, added the CID.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=131 2007/10/2
"Go in peace," Hou Yu-ih, director-general of the National Police Agency, murmured to a sergeant who succumbed Wednesday to fatal wounds while trying to arrest a motorbike thief at Taoyuan 40 days before.
It was Hou's 14th and last visit to Sergeant Li Chao-chen yesterday. Hou was at Li's home before 6 a.m.
"If there were police in Heaven," Hou said, lifting the white veil from Li's face, "You would do well there. Heaven bless and protect police!"
Li was stabbed four times by Lee Yu-ho, 32, of Taoyuan, on November 24. Lee was arrested later.
The sergeant, deputy chief of a Taoyuan police sub-station, was taken to hospital in a coma, from which he never came out.
His colleagues in the county of Taoyuan donated blood for transfusions more than five times to keep him alive.
Li was transferred to the Taiwan University Hospital on December 13. Doctors could only keep the police sergeant on life-sustaining equipment.
On Wednesday, Mrs. Li finally decided to say good-bye to her husband. She asked Taiwan University Hospital doctors to take him off the equipment.
A doctor accompanied the sergeant aboard an ambulance that left Taipei Wednesday afternoon. On its way back to his home at Luchu near Taoyuan, the ambulance stopped before his police sub-station.
There, more than a score of police officers, led by the deputy chief of police in Taoyuan, stood at attention to welcome Li back to office.
They blew their whistles, their taps for the fallen sergeant.
The car reached Li's home at 7:30 p.m. The doctor took Li off the life-sustaining equipment an hour later.
Li is survived by his wife and their two children, age seven and two.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=90 2007/1/9 CIB busts swindle ring allegedly selling blank checks

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau's (CIB) center in central Taiwan yesterday busted a ring allegedly selling surrogate checks, and arrested eight suspects, according to the CIB.
CIB officials said over the past six months, more than 3,000 people around the island have been cheated by the ring, with total amount of money swindled estimated at over NT$3 billion.
The No. 6 investigation team of the center Wednesday raided more than 30 "working places" of the swindle ring in Taipei County, Tainan County, Kaohsiung County and Kaohsiung City, seizing quite a few chops, checking books, client data as evidence against their illegal practices.
The ring used to find surrogates to serve as responsible persons for phantom companies, and the firms then applied to banks for opening checking accounts with fake trading records.
After the phantom firms were allowed to open checking accounts, they began to place ads to solicit people to borrow checks from them so that the borrowers can use the checks to get revolving funds from private lending sources. The phantom firms collected a charge of NT$5,000 to NT$12,000 for each blank check they lent. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=83 2006/9/23 (July 26, 2006)
CIB with help from mainland police crack insurance scam

The China Post staff

Acting in concert with police in mainland China, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) here recently cracked an insurance scam that involved nine suspects.
Hsu Yung-kun, 41, the operator of a taxi company in Keelung, was the mastermind of the scam, the CIB said in its press release.
Hsu told two of his employees, Hu Chang-cheng, 54, and Lin Kai-wei, 52, to go to the mainland, where the two men pretended to marry and then invented the story they were drowned in order to obtain NT$100 million (US$3 million) in insurance, according to the news release.
Last October Hsu arranged for Hu and Lin to go to China's Jiangxi Province to falsely marry and, after returning to Taiwan, they took out NT$100 million insurance with two insurance companies, the press release stated.
The two men went to Jiangxi again on December 21. There they wetted their bodies at a Reservoir and pretended they were drowned, the CIB news release noted.
After obtaining their "death certificates" and earthen containers that supposedly contained their ashes, they came back to apply for insurance compensation, said the news release, adding that the insurance companies found some questions when evaluating their applications and reported to the police.
The CIB, working in cooperation with police across the Taiwan Strait, found that the pictures that supposedly showed the men's bodies were inconsistent.
For example, in one of the pictures, the eyes of Hu's "body" were open while in another picture the eyes were closed.
Also, the earthen container that supposedly contained the two men's ashes actually contained mud.
It was not clear how many arrests had been made in connection with he case.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=82 2006/7/27 (May 25, 2006)

CIB nabs suspect with NT$30 mil. fake products

The China Post staff

Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers yesterday indicted a female suspect for violating the Copyright Law and the Trademark Law after confiscating 771 counterfeit products bearing world famous brand names in Sanchung City, Taipei County.
Police detained 30-year-old Tu Wen-mei Tuesday after conducting an initial questioning concerning the fake products with a street value of over NT$30 million (US$937,000).
With assistance from police of Taipei County and Keelung City, the CIB officers found the counterfeit products that were made in China.
The questionable products, including leather items, watches, ties, key chains, sunglasses and handbags of a variety of top-shelf brands like Coach and Gucci, were found in Tu's house, office and warehouse in Sanchung City.
Acting on a tipoff, police began collecting evidence and tracking Tu early this month.
They applied for and was granted a warrant to search Tu's house and office Tuesday evening after she was found to have imported the selected imitation goods from China at a cost of only a little more than NT$1 million to earn exorbitant profits in Taiwan.
According to CIB officers, Tu only allowed acquaintances to enter her exhibition room in her house and warehouse to purchase the items. Buyers were asked to make the payments in her office.
Police said they have expanded the investigation to track down on possible accomplices working with Tu.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=81 2006/6/1
(April 23, 2006)
CIB arrested three suspects for cannibalizing cars

The China Post staff

Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Police arrested three suspects in Chiayi yesterday for cannibalizing close to 100 cars across Taiwan. They were identified as Lee Yung-tsai, 44; his brother Lee Yung-chow, 41; and Chao Chun-yung, 30. All three have police records, agents of the CIB said.
Agents said they seized 23 cannibalized cars in Chiayi, Changhua, Tainan, Touliu, Hsinchu and Taoyuan. Each car was sold for NT$300,000 to NT$600,000, according to CIB agents.
Car parts and components were found at a cannibalizing yard in suburban Chiayi. Lee Yung-chow owned the yard, and the cannibalization ring was in operation for close to three years, said one CIB agent.
"We believe," the agent said, "they have made at least NT$50 million over the years."

82-year-old granny
publishes memoir
The China Post staff
Lu Hsueh-fang relearned how to write when she was 76 years old in order to write her memoir. She completed her memoir earlier this year. Her 100,000-word work has been cited by the Ilan county bureau of culture as the best memoir of the year.
It wasn't easy to write her "Summation at 80."
For more than 50 years, Lu never wrote a Chinese character. She hadn't finished her elementary education in China before she came to Ilan with his husband when she was 25.
When she didn't know what characters she had to write to record her memories, Lu had to ask for help from her husband and grownup children.
A son, who is now a U.S. citizen, was not spared when he came back to Ilan for a visit with his parents.
"He was really handy," the old granny says. "He stayed at home almost all the time, when he was back here, and I was able to reach him anytime I had trouble writing the right characters," she adds.
One of her constant part-time teachers was her daughter, who used to be an Ilan county council member.
And it was that daughter, who continued to drive her to write her story from childhood in Wuwei in Anhui to her life in Ilan, including her experiences in China's eight-year war of resistance against Japan.
"My daughter used to tell everybody I was writing a memoir," Lu says. "How could I stop writing?"
To Lu it was a monumental work. She is losing her sight. She has cataract. She is so near-sighted as to be called a visually impaired person.
Lu is now 82. She is proud of the work she completed in five long years. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=80 2006/4/27 (April 13, 2006)
CIB nabs 22 on financial frauds targeted at China

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested yesterday 22 suspects who have swindled money from more than 1,000 victims in mainland China from their bank accounts in the past several months.
CIB officials said the group also cheated telecommunications services companies in Taiwan that were left holding stacks of unpaid phone bills.
Chen Chin-fu, the ring leader, was arrested in Taichung in central Taiwan. The others, mostly young women in their 20s, were picked up in Taichung, Kaohsiung and other metropolises outside Taipei.
The officials said that Chen, 40, has previous fraud records. Taking advantage of the efficient modern telecom technology, he combined the well-versed tricks that had been used by many fraudsters to milk several hundred million New Taiwan dollars through used telecom service and financial frauds from people in Taiwan in recent years.
But Chen targeted mainly at people in China this time.
He set up operations in Taichung at the end of last year and recruited young women to work for him.
They applied a large number of mobile phone numbers and then randomly sent brief messages to residents in major mainland cities, including Beijing, Shenzhen, and Xiamen.
Even disguising as staff of the mainland Chinese public security, they told those who get the calls that their credit cards have been used by unauthorized persons and they need to check and verify the people's identities in order to make things right.
After cajoling victims to reveal their bank accounts and PIN number, then quickly transferred the victims' money into their own accounts.
CRIB officials said that Chen's group sent out about 10 million brief messages to China to search for targets each month
Although the group paid NT$15,000 ad deposit upon receiving a new number for their mobile phones, the phone bills actually ran well over the deposit.
When searching the facilities of the group, police confiscated 160 mobile phones, 118 SIM cards, deposit passbooks issued by banks in China, NT$3.48 million in cash, and some other telecom gizmos.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=79 2006/4/24 ( April 7, 2006)
CIB busts 422 cybercrime cases

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) announced yesterday the busting of 422 cybercrime cases with more than 400 suspects facing prosecution, and also busted a fraud gang of seven members.
CIB officials said the bureau's latest three-day crackdown, launched early this week, was targeted at Internet-related criminal activities such as cyber pornography, online trading scams, online gambling, online piracy, illegal online games and unlawful telecommunications operations.
Of the cybercrime cases uncovered in the operation, online trading scams accounted for the largest number, with 154 suspects involved in 189 cases, they said.
Coming in second was cyber pornography, with 126 cases and 127 suspects. Others included 53 cases involving online games, with 61 suspects; 48 cases of online piracy, with 50 suspects; and two cases of unlawful telecommunications operations, with 14 suspects, they added.
Meanwhile, the officials said they have rounded up seven suspects who used telecommunications technical know-how to engage in financial fraud across the Taiwan Strait.
Under the leadership of Heh Kuan-shien, 40, some members of the ring stayed in China to bilk money from Taiwan residents by telling them fabricated stories.
One senior female researcher at the Academia Sinica, the nation's highest research institution, lost more than NT$2 million from bank accounts.
The group, disguised as staff of the Kaohsiung District Court, informed her that she owed a credit card debt of NT$90,000 and told her to call a CIB phone number for confirmation.
The unsuspecting researcher dialed the number and somebody on the other end of the phone "confirmed that he worked at the CIB office."
She was then talked into changing her PIN code, which was simultaneously revealed to the perpetrator. She soon found herself more NT$2 million poorer.
One of the suspects told the police that "it was unthinkably easy to con money from some people in Taiwan" -- like taking candy from a baby.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=78 2006/4/13 (April 3, 2006)
CIB cracks another drug smuggling ring

The China Post staff

Agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) smashed another drug smuggling ring with the assistance of police in the Taipei area and Changhua in central Taiwan.
CIB officials said yesterday that the bust involved the arrest of a former township council chief surnamed Huang in Changhua County, a woman surnamed Lee, and a go between nicknamed "Ah Yih."
Police first spotted "Ah Yih" at the Chiang Kai-shek International Airport late Saturday night when he took something from an incoming female passenger.
They followed his car to a small temple on a rural road in Dahtsun, Changhua County, where Huang was waiting.
Police arrested both and confiscated more than 700 grams of high purity heroin with a market value of about NT$6 million.
Huang, 42, has previous offenses, including gambling, coercion, illegal gun possession, and violating election regulations.
Based on Huang's confessions, the CIB agents drove to Taichung City to take in the 33-year-old woman surnamed Lee, who admitted that she brought back drug from her latest trip to Cambodia.
It has become common for drug smugglers to recruit younger women for overseas trips, who return with drugs or other contraband goods, in exchange for free journeys and attractive financial rewards.


]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=77 2006/4/11 (March 5, 2006)

CIB rounds up five drug dealers in Taoyuan County

The China Post staff

Police of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) have arrested five drug dealers and confiscated 728 grams of heroin and 45 grams of amphetamine with a market worth of over NT$15 million in Taoyuan County late Wednesday night.
Those arrested included ring leader Lu Tai-hao, 44, and four others with ages ranging from 31 to 55. All of them have criminal records including drug pushing.
Lu himself is currently still appealing an earlier drug pushing case.
CIB officials said the five were arrested at an apartment he rented near Kuishan of Taoyuan.
Lu and the accomplices have installed surveillance camera on their balconies or using de lube cars to evade police tracking.
The five have recently raised new fund to purchase the drags and then resell the stuff to other end users.
Selling drugs enabled Lu to own two Mercedes-Benz vehicle. But He is still in deep debt because he is not able to kick the gambling habit, a police source added.
Hou Yu-ih, who just took over the reins at the National Police Agency (NPA), vowed to crack down on any violation of the law, whether the crime is possession of illegal weapons, smuggling drugs, theft, fraud, kidnapping, sexual assault or drunk driving.
Lou formerly served as CIB chief before the promotion.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=76 2006/3/14 (March 9, 2006)
Pirated 'Brokeback Mountain', 'Crash' DVDs seized

The China Post staff

Police rounded up 16 suspects in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Hualien yesterday for pirating DVDs, including those of newly famous "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crash."
More than 1,200 pirated copies and the master DVD were seized at a copying plant in Kaohsiung, operated by Wu Ming-feng, Criminal Investigation Bureau agents said.
The identities of 15 others were withheld.
Wang Chieh-tuo, Taichung district prosecutor, coordinated the roundup.
Most of the suspects were young, in their 20s, said a CIB agent.
"We were surprised to find so many copies of Brokeback Mountain and Crash," the CIB officer added.
Brokeback Mountain was made all the more famous after its director, Taiwan-born Ang Lee, won the best director Oscar on Sunday.
Crash won the best picture Oscar.
Wu ran the copying plant for close to two years, said investigators.
Over the years, investigators added, Wu had made at least NT$15 million.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=75 2006/3/14 (January 28, 2006)
Suspects nabbed stealing Taipower electric wire

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday busted a crime ring allegedly involved in stealing electrical wire and cables from state-run Taiwan Power Co., arresting four suspects and confiscating 17 metric tons of copper wires and cables.
CIB officials joined forces with police stations of Changhua and Yunlin counties in central Taiwan to crack down on crime ring, raiding two private residences and arresting four suspects involved in the case.
The mastermind of the ring was named Lin Yi-hsin, 29, who was also allegedly engaged in drug trafficking and burglary. Lin was found to have stolen massive amounts of electrical wires and cables used for power transmission by Taipower in Yunlin, Changhua and Chiayi counties, in collaboration with his elder sister and two other ring members.
The four was sent to the Yunlin District Prosecutor's Office for prosecution on charges of stealing and drug trafficking.
CIB officials said that Lin Yi-hsin, well versed in fixing water and power supply problems but addicted to drugs, was usually in short of money to buy drugs, forcing him to collaborate with other drug addicts to steal electric wires and cables. The stolen products, after undergoing simple processing, were sold to a resources recycling shop via Lin's elder sister.
Taipower officials estimated that the four suspects had stolen up to 17 metric tons of copper wires and cables so far.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=72 2006/2/8 (February 12, 2006)

CIB arrests random abductor suspect in Taichung

The China Post staff

Police arrested one suspect in Taichung after exchanging fires with a group of heavily armed kidnappers a wild chase of three hours yesterday, according to officials of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Under the coordination of the CIB's anti-crime center in central Taiwan, police imposed a 24-hour surveillance of Hu Cheng-hung following a string of "random kidnapping" cases in the area,
The car used by Hu suddenly fired four shots at a police car at area of the coastal Shalu and Chingshui townships in Taichung County. Police did not fire back for fearing of hurting a hostage inside the vehicle but started to chase Hu's car at around 12:30 of midnight.
During the chase covering Taichung City and several adjacent townships, the kidnappers even hurled a grenade at one of the police cars. Fortunately, the grenade did not go off.
Police began shooting at the kidnappers' car when it was passing through an underpass. Some bullets hit the tires of the kidnappers' vehicle.
The three kidnappers were forced to abandon the car and two of them escaped by taking a taxi. But Hu, 23, was arrested.
Hu told police that they released the hostage during the chase but declined to reveal the identity of the victim.
CIB officials said two more grenades, a pair of handcuffs, a stun gun, a baseball stick, and rolls of duct paper were confiscated from the abandoned car.
The officials said the kidnappers were involved in at eight of the "random kidnapping" cases in which they picked victims randomly on streets and forced them to withdraw cash from their bank accounts at the automatic teller machines (ATMs).
The CIB and local police branches have expanded search and investigation in Taichung area in order to take in Hu's accomplices of the ring as early as possible.


]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=74 2006/2/20
(February 15, 2006)
CIB nabs three in online financial fraud

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday urged financial institutions to thoroughly review their online banking service systems and plug possible technical defects as early as possible.
The CIB offered the advice after its agents arrested Chuang Shih-chung, 28, and two accomplices of a ring that takes advantage of the wireless telecommunications "spillover" to tap into the financial networks to purchase products with credit cards from the electronic shopping malls on the Internet or cable TV channels.
Chuang then sold the products for cash.
In order to avoid tracking by police, Chuang's team hacked into other people's online systems for the electronic financial frauds.
After searching and finding locations with strong signals for the "spillover," they used personal computers to use the Internet to complete transactions.
The CIB said Chuang was able to get legitimate credit card numbers from financial service firms that were contracted by banks to promote their credit cards.
Utilizing certain software, Chuang was able to sharply increase the credit line for cardholders.
When Chuang got hold of a card with credit limit of NT$100,000, he could boost the ceiling to NT$400,000, a CIB officials said.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=73 2006/2/20 Con men have already swindled more than NT$557 million this year from victims in telecommunication and financial scams. This number is far higher than the figure of NT$134.6 million recorded last year.
Experts studying crimes in Taiwan said the amount of NT$557 million involved only the fraud cases reported to police. But the actual figure could run as high as NT$1.8 billion so far this year, they said.
Police statistics show that fraud reported by victims involving fund transfers triggered by criminal syndicates using phone calls totaled 12,683 cases and those via mobile phone text messages (SMS) stood at 1,873 cases in 2004.
In a bid to stem the problem, the government set up the "165" special phone lines in April of the same year for people who were approached by fraudsters.
Police have so far received 1.46 million reports, meaning that nearly every household in Taiwan has been approached by the potential predators.
The number of scams in which people had their hard-earned money stolen from their bank accounts increased to 15,474 via cell phone calls and 2,033 via SMS in 2005.
The figures reached 10,898 and 375 respectively so far this year.
Despite the decrease in the number of cases, the monetary value of the scams increased to NT$240,000 per case this year, higher than all previous years.
Officials at the CIB under the Ministry of Interior said the large number of financial and telecom scams proves that there is still a high ratio of people not careful enough in safeguarding their money when approached by conmen.
They also pointed out that surrogate bank accounts have become a key loophole in the government's fight against the new tide of crime.
There are presently no regulations punishing people who buy and sell bank accounts to be used by fraudsters in executing their scams.
Victims of the scams are instructed to remit their money into accounts designated by the criminal syndicates.
The arrested fraudsters currently face only charges of forgery, which is not enough to deter the con men who tend to restart the cheating operations after being released.
Only stiffer fines and punishments can help prevent the predators from repeating the crimes, they said.
Other measures to be taken by the CIB will include the stepped-up interchange of information with law enforcement agencies in China to jointly hunt down the suspects.
To avoid the police crackdown, many perpetrators in Taiwan managed to set up operations in China to execute the scams in Taiwan remotely.
Closer cooperation between the police forces across the Taiwan Strait will help reduce financial and telecom crimes on the island, the CIB officials added.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=89 2006/11/30 They identified the suspect by his family name of Tsai, but said the 39-year-old man did time for bodily assault and "endangering public safety."
Tsai called 165 on last August 25.
He told the officer at the other end of the line he wanted to report an extortion case.
Apparently drunk, Tsai told the officer he was threatened by extortionists who told him they were going to kidnap his son.
"Then," a Criminal Investigation Bureau agent said, "he started shouting abuse. He even didn't spare President Chen (Shui-bian)."
As Tsai left with the officer the name of his son and where the child was studying, CIB agents were able to track him down.
CIB agents said Tsai admitted he shouted the abuse. That constitutes an insult to public functionaries carrying on their duties.
If indicted and convicted, Tsai may be sentenced to six months in prison.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=88 2006/11/30 They worked in five groups, three of them in Taichung, Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) agents said.
More than 1,000 people were cheated, CIB investigators added.
The groups were headed by Chen Ming-shan, Yung Tsai-an, Chiu Peng-chen, Wang Han-lung and Wu Chi-liang.
Details about them were withheld. Police refused to identify the other 24 suspects.
When CIB agents raided one group working in Taichung, Wang and his underlings were making false TV call-in programs.
Such programs, made with the assistants serving as necromancy adherents calling in, were played on a cable TV channel.
They would say good things about Chen and other necromancers, inducing genuine adherents to call in.
Necromancers would then tell the marks bad fortune was awaiting them and offer help, investigators said. The help took the form of the sale of trinkets.
Many were deceived in buying their "fortune charts," quack medicines and dharma robes. Others were told to make cash contributions to get rid of bad luck.
Altogether NT$1.08 million in cash was seized in the raid. Also seized were quack medicines, credit cards and bank passbooks entrusted to necromancers by victims, and charms and talismans. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=87 2006/11/30 The CIB arrested as many as 18 suspects, including the ring's mastermind Hsieh Yu-ming, 27.
CIB officials said that Hsieh, plagued by heavy spending on sex, wine and drugs, was forced to go to mainland China to learn various online and telephone money-swindling practices early this year.
Six months ago, Hsieh returned to Taiwan and taught his two major accomplices Yang Chun-chieh, 27, and Lo Min-wen, 30, all the money-swindling skills he learned earlier, finally jointly forming a swindling ring.
Then, the three suspects joined forces with downstream money collectors to carry out their swindles, first placing ads to solicit dummies to open bank accounts, extending loans, using violent means to retrieve loans extended, and using various skills to swindle money from victims.
The three suspects also moved to internationalize their swindling "business" by setting up footholds in South Korea and locating downstream money collectors.
They also invited quite a few relatives and friends to tour South Korea free of charge, and gave them NT$30,000 as pocket money. Then these hosted relatives and friends were required to open dummy bank accounts in South Korea for use by the local members of the swindling ring.
CIB officials said that the swindling ring managed to swindle up to NT$10 million from South Korean victims within one week. The money was then channeled through surrogate accounts for laundry in Taiwan, mainland China and South Korea.
CIB police officers raided residences and offices of the 18 suspects of the ring in Taipei, Taoyuan and some other counties, confiscating NT$360,000 in swindled money, a large number of surrogate accounts numbers, ATM cards, mobile phones, one pistol, and 20 bullets.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=86 2006/11/29 The No. 7 division of the CIB arrested the seven suspects, including the mastermind Huang Shih-chang, 29, and accomplices Lee Chih-hao and Chang Hui-chin, both 29; as well as four female money collectors Yeh Kung-chin, 26; Lee Wan-ching, 19; Yeh Chien-feng, 25 and Wu Hsiao-yi. The four women all served as hostesses at night clubs.
While observing the suspects, the police found that the ring's members drove over 100 kilometers in three hours to collect over NT$1 million at counters of over 10 banks and post offices in central Taiwan. This made the police term the gang as the "most mobile money withdrawing team ever seen in Taiwan."
CIB police said that swindlers used to claim to victims that they have won big prizes via fake questionnaires, luring them to pay membership fees to their company or make tax payments for the prizes.
Then, the gang members lied to the victims that their company was caught violating the money laundry prevention law by Hong Kong authorities, as a result of the remittances of the membership fees and tax payments for the big prizes they won.
Accordingly, the gangsters threatened the victims to force them to remit more money as compensation for their company's losses, saying that if they didn't remit more money into designated bank accounts, they would suffer greatly. Quite a few victims were forced to make additional remittances.
In August this year, many victims reported to the No. 7 division of the CIB that they had been swindled out of money, amounting to over NT$6 million.
The CIB division soon set up a task force to investigate the case. Later, CIB officials found that the ring headed by Huang Shih-chang cooperated with nine swindle rings based in mainland China, responsible for collecting the money swindled by the nine rings. The highly mobile ring used to withdraw money at financial institutions in all the counties and cities within one week.
CIB officials also found that Huang's girlfriend was a hostess at a night club, who allegedly solicited many of her colleagues to help withdraw money from banks, at a daily pay of NT$3,000 to NT$10,000, depending on their "seniority" in the field.
One of the hostesses was arrested just two months ago for withdrawing money on behalf of the ring, but she was soon released on bail. She, however, was arrested again yesterday.
Another hostess was just 19 years old, and she was nabbed during her first day of acting as a money collector for the ring.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=85 2006/11/23 The two -- identified as Laso Eduardo Medina, 53, and Lino Gregorio, 55 -- are both members of a Philippines-based theft ring, the CIB officials said.
The officials said that the Philippines-based theft ring has a total of 10 members, and they travel to mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan as tourists and were involved in quite a number of theft cases.
Most members of the ring allegedly wear suits during the day, pretending to be members of the high society and seek opportunities to steal precious jewelry products and diamond watches.
On Aug. 28 and Sept. 4, prosecutors and police in Chiayi, southern Taiwan, nabbed four other members of the ring on charges of committing seven major thefts in the past two years. The four were identified as Dunala Celesbay Lon, Deiesus Richardo Gatus, Gabriel Ruel Sugay, and Bondoc Jorce Ferdinand Fernandez. The other six members were still at large at the time.
While trying to locate the other suspects, the CIB found that a watch store in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, saw two precious watches valued at around NT$1.4 million stolen away by two foreigners in the afternoon of Oct. 26, after the two pretended to be buying the watches.
After watching the monitoring video, the two suspects were soon identified as Laso and Lino, who were members of the same Philippines-based theft ring.
After the duo were arrested at the airport, the police also seized Rolex watches, diamond watches for ladies, as well as 92 gold and platinum rings from their possession.
The suspects admitted to the police of committing four theft cases in Taiwan.
The police said they will move to expand their probe into the Philippine theft ring and bring other members of the group to justice.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=84 2006/11/21 Two men nabbed for smuggling 1.6 kg of marijuana from Canada

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said yesterday that they had arrested two men suspected of importing 1.6 kilograms of marijuana via airmail from Canada.
The two men, surnamed Wang and Tsai, have already been sent to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for further interrogation.
They told the police that they ordered the marijuana from a Canadian man and used Federal Express to import it.
Officials at the international division of the CIB noted that the Hong Kong office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was informed Oct. 21 that the U.S. customs, while checking the items in a Federal Express station in Memphis, Tennessee Oct. 18, found a parcel bound for Taiwan suspicious in terms of its weight and thickness.
The parcel was described on the bill of lading as a photo album, but a detector needle found that marijuana was hidden in the parcel.
After learning the information, the international division of the CIB moved to cooperate with the Hong Kong office and the Memphis office of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to closely monitor the movement of the parcel.
Following three months of effort, CIB agents and prosecutors finally arrested the two suspects.
CIB agents said they will continue to track down the source and the distribution network of the smugglers.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=66 2006/1/19 Accomplice of kidnappers extradited from China

The China Post staff
An accomplice of Taiwan's two notorious kidnappers was extradited to Taiwan from China yesterday.
Lin Chen-hsiung, wanted for abetting Hsieh Chiu and Chang Hsi-ming, was ferried to Kinmen, where he was taken under custody and flown back to Taipei in the afternoon.
Two refugees, wanted for fraud and rape, were extradited together with Lin, 46, of Taichung, agents of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
The extradition was effected in line with a Kinmen agreement between the Red Cross society of Taiwan and its counterpart in China.
CIB agents said Lin, arrested in China in October last year, was wanted for tipping Hsueh and Chang on marks and helping the kidnappers acquire firearms.
Among the marks were Chang Hung-nien, a former speaker of the Taichung city council, and Hung Chun-yen, a radio broadcasting station owner in Tsaotun.
The Taichung politician was abducted in 2001 by Hsueh Chiu, who is now standing trial in Taipei for kidnapping and murder.
Hung was kidnapped by Chang Hsi-ming in 2004. The abductor was indicted in Taichung for kidnapping and murder on November 11 last year.
If convicted, both abductors would be sentenced to death.
Wanted for fraud in 2000, Wu Chao-hsun, 39, of Hsinchu, was arrested in China in last October.
Lee Wang-miao, 61, of Panchiao, was wanted for raping a minor in 1999.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=63 2006/1/18 Two arrested for selling bogus Cialis tablets

The China Post staff
Police arrested two men in Taipei yesterday for selling more than 4,000 Cialis tablets.
Cialis, a cure for erectile dysfunction, is prescribed.
The pair were identified only by their family names of Chien and Chang.
Chien was captured at his home on Nanjing East Road, where 22 cartons of fake Cialis tablets were seized, Criminal Investigation Bureau agents said.
Chang was nabbed later.
They admitted they purchased 45,438 film-coated tablets at NT$40 each in May last year.
CIB investigators are looking for the unidentified seller.
Going prices for Cialis tablets range from NT$400 to NT$450.
Investigators said Chien and Chang sold their tablets for NT$600 each. "They've sold more than 50,000," one agent added.
He said they were able to fetch a higher price by claiming their tablets came right out of Lilly, the Cialis manufacturer.
Lilly lab workers checked seized tablets and confirmed they were faked.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=62 2006/1/18 Counterfeit medicine ring busted: CIB

The China Post staff

A division of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday busted the largest-ever underground drug-manufacturing ring and seized as much as 550,000 counterfeit drug pills worth NT$300 million in the market.
The drugs included some of the most famous stomach, dietary and sex-enhancement pharmaceuticals.
Lin Keng-feng, the main suspect in the case, told the police shocking details that an average of seven out of 10 pharmacies in Northern Taiwan were channeling partners of the ring, meaning unknowing consumers have already taken bogus drugs.
During the bust, officers of the Fourth Division of CIB found and seized the following: 20,000 Zantac, an antacid; 50,000 Reductil, a slimming pill; 70,000 Stinox, a sedative; 50,000 Viagra; 70,000 Cialis; 120,000 flu drug pills and 210,000 unknown drug pills.
The bogus pills looked so real that even health officials said they could not tell whether they were real or not, CIB said.
Members of the ring had taken these drugs themselves and sold them only if the drugs were determined 60 percent effective, CIB said.
Lin has a track record as he was arrested for making 200,000 counterfeit drug pills just in September and was released on bail the very next day, CIB said.
He imported ingredients from mainland China due to lax regulations and did the manufacturing and packaging here in Taiwan at an average cost of NT$20 per dose. The products were then sold for a market price of between NT$300 and NT$400 to help the ring rake in a handsome profit.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=69 2005/12/10 CIB arrests 13 for credit, debit card fraud

The China Post staff

A Hong Kong bank loan officer and 12 others were arrested yesterday for cheating at least seven financial institutions out of NT$10 million each, the Criminal Investigation Bureau announced yesterday.
They were rounded up in Taipei, Taoyuan, Miaoli and Taichung, a CIB spokesman said.
Wang Fang-chu, the loan officer at the Taipei branch of the Bank of East Asia of Hong Kong, masterminded the fraud, using false identifications to obtain credit and debit cards, said the CIB official.
One of the other 12 was identified as Chang Yu-hao, who ran a Chien Chun company in Taipei as a front. The remaining 11 worked for Chang.
Their identification was withheld.
CIB investigators said Wang had access to personal information of hundreds of card holders kept at the National Credit Card Center in Taipei, which he used to forge credit and debit cards with Chang's help.
Chang's underlings drew cash or obtained loans from banks in Southeast Asia with the forged cards, said CIB agents.
The Southeast Asian banks then demanded the repayment of the financial institutions in Taiwan. "Seven banks here had to repay," the CIB spokesman added.
They included the AnShin Card Services Co., Taipei Fubon Bank, Taishin International Bank, First Bank, Sunny Bank, ING Life Insurance Company and Standard Chartered Bank in Taipei.
"Each of them has been cheated out of some NT$10 million," one CIB agent reported.
All 13 were charged with theft, fraud and forgery.
AnShin and Standard Chartered reported the fraud to the CIB. Wang's ring started the scam in July last year.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=68 2005/12/10 Poet arrested for threatening to kill Premier Hsieh

The China Post staff

A little known poet was arrested yesterday for threatening to kill Premier Frank Hsieh and his family.
Police captured Huang Jen-ho, who is better known as Tu Shih-san (Thirteen Tu), at his home in suburban Taipei shortly before 5 p.m.
Huang admitted he called the Office of the Premier on last Tuesday and threatened to execute Hsieh for trying to curb freedom of speech.
The 55-year-old poet, who published his anthology entitled "Hidden Stars" in November last year, said over the phone he sentenced the premier to death.
He said his non-existent organization "Taiwan Liberation Alliance," would carry out the execution in one week.
"Your family will be executed along with you," Huang was quoted as saying in the recorded phone call.
Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) investigators were able to trace the call to a toll phone at a convenience store in Beitou.
Monitor television shows the man who made the call, investigators said.
They nabbed the man identified by the monitor video and found at his home his clothes that matched those shown on television.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=60 2005/11/10 (November 5, 2005)
Eleven young racing bikers nabbed after shooting at train

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday rounded up 11 young motorcycle racing gang members after two of the group fired shots at a passenger train in Kaohsiung Wednesday.
A CIB official said that two teenagers surnamed Huang, aged 17, and Yeh, 15, used modified toy guns to fire steel pin ball bullets at the train because they felt "the train was moving too slowly" at a crossroad at Chiaotou Hsiang, Kaohsiung County, at 8:30 p.m.
The seven bullets shattered seven windows of the passenger coaches. A woman aboard the train was hurt by the broken glass.
Police at the southern branch of the CIB started an extensive manhunt and picked up the duo yesterday. They later arrested seven other members of the same gang.
A CIB spokesman said the hunt will continue until all members of the group are booked.
Residents in the Chiaotou and Nantze area applauded the CIB move.
The motorcycle racers, dubbed "locusts"
by residents, pose a threat to public safety because they often ignore traffic rules to dominate the public roads and coerce other motorcyclists and motorists with knives or guns.
Police sources said the number of the "locusts" of that same gang often roared to 100 or even 200 for racing on the weekends.
The racing bikers are called "locusts" by residents because they often gather from all directions to dominate the roads, though they do not necessarily know each other.
The "locusts" also escape suddenly in all directions when police mount a crackdown.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=59 2005/11/10 (September 13, 2005)
CIB cracks identity theft case involved local dance figure

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), after a month of investigation, yesterday successfully apprehended seven suspects who allegedly swindled NT$730,000 from Lo Man-fei, the artistic director of Cloud Gate 2, a local dance theater.
After confirming the location of the suspects, the police dispatched three task forces and arrested them in various areas of Taichung City and County. More than NT$5 million in cash and 60 dummy bank accounts were confiscated by the police.
The police stated that most of the money garnered by the con artists was sent to China and laundered. Judging from the large amount of cash found, the crime ring must have victimized a great many people, the police pointed out.
The mastermind of the crime ring is located in China, said the police. The people arrested were underlings who did the dirty work for their boss. There are still three suspects at large in Taiwan, said the police.
One of the suspects, posing as an employee of the Financial Supervisory Commission, phoned Lo a month ago and informed her that she had become a victim of identity theft. The suspect then instructed Lo to transfer her money in the bank to a bank account in order to avoid further monetary loss.
Although Lo figured out that she had been tricked shortly after the phone call, all her savings in that account had been withdrawn.
The police, although managing to crack the case within a month, were criticized for prioritizing Lo's case because she is a public figure. CIB responded to the accusation by stating that Lo has received the same treatment as anybody else.
CIB noted that Lo's case was cracked with efficiency because the police have been monitoring the ring before she was victimized. It further indicated that it took months before sufficient evidence was gathered to indict the suspects.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=58 2005/10/18
(September 1, 2005)
CIB arrests 12 mobsters for recruiting underage students

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested 12 mobsters for recruiting underage students into their gang through the use of Internet chatrooms.
Li Chun-chieh, the leader of the gang, is a member of the Bamboo Union, a large crime organization in Taiwan. Last year, Li announced the launch of his branch, "Hsiung Tang," and invited well-known figures for a luncheon. His audacious move attracted the attention of the police, who began to monitor the movement of his gang.
According to CIB, Li's gang was involved in several large scale political movements and turf wars. It also fabricated personal information and established numerous fake bank accounts in three major financial institutions. With the accounts, the gang acquired millions of NT dollars through loan applications.
Every high school student absorbed into the gang is required to recruit 20 more in order to advance in rank. This recruiting method enabled the crime ring to grow exponentially in number with hundreds of high school students joining.
Communication with Li's minions are usually done through Internet instant messaging and chat rooms, said CIB. Through the use of narcotics and money, Li successfully brainwashed his followers into believing that the gang is their family, said CIB.
The police indicated that they will probe deeper into the organization and investigate if the gang is involved in other illegal activities. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=55 2005/09/8
(September 20, 2005)
Hualien hackers steal online gamers' identities

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked a hacker ring that used pornographic pictures on the Internet to distribute Trojan software, which copies the user name and password of online gamers.
The five arrested suspects, led by a woman identified by her surname Wen, began their illegal activities in May. They would gather in Internet cafes around Hualien County and steal account numbers and passwords from members of the online gaming community.
The personal information will then be delivered to hackers located in China, who categorize them and sell them on the Internet. Buyers will be able to access the account of the gamers and steal the "rare items" they have gathered in the game.
CIB stated that Wen, 22, and four other suspects were tracked down and arrested. The police have found in their possession bank passes and files of stolen personal information.
According to CIB, the suspects do not have prior records with the police. From May to August, the five have netted more than NT$800,000. Investigators are trying to figure out the number of victims.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=57 2005/09/23
(September 15, 2005)
Veteran dancer falls for swindle by bogus financial regulator

The China Post staff

Police officers at the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday urged people to be cautious when transferring funds from their bank accounts. They made the call after a new surge in financial frauds.
The government took the unpopular move of limiting daily funds transfers to just NT$30,000 for each person a few months ago in the hope of reducing rampant financial frauds. However, the syndicates have come up with new tricks to continue preying on the more gullible victims.
Lo Man-fei, artistic director of the well-known Cloud Gate Dance Theater, held a press conference to tell the public how her six-figure bank deposits shrank to a mere NT$832.
Lo, who graduated from the Department of English Literature and has a master's degree in dance from New York University, acknowledged that she lost NT$730,000 by being careless.
An anonymous caller was able to cheat the money out of her Taipei Fubon Bank account because he disguised himself as an official from the Cabinet's Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) probing a criminal case.
He told Lo that the FSC is tracking down an ex-employee of the bank who had stolen the personal financial data of customers to produce bogus credit cards.
Lo was told to divert her money into "an account of the FSC" for safety.
At the guidance of the "FSC official," Lo used "a voice financial transfer service" to add the "FSC account" to the list of accounts that are not limited to the ceiling of NT$30,000 daily transfer.
Only after transferring her money, she suspected that there could be financial fraud involved. She called Taipei Fubon Bank chairman Tsai Ming-chung for verification but was only told that she had fallen into a trap.
Lo said she informed the police about the scam after the caller made further efforts to contact her. But the real law enforcement agents were unable to hunt down the fake financial regulator.
The veteran dancer, who is fighting lung cancer, said she wanted to make public what happened to her to alert other people about the new tricks used by the swindlers.
CIB officials said people should always take care before receiving any instructions or suggestions to divert money out of their bank accounts.
When receiving the calls, they said, people should ask the callers to leave their phone numbers and names, then call their own banks for verification.
If they cannot make the verification, then the consumers should call the special police line "165" for assistance.
People should never divert money out of their bank accounts or reveal account numbers before carefully and cautiously completing verification, they said.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=56 2005/09/21 (August 27, 2005)
Student arrested for posting guide to suicide

The China Post staff

A college student, surnamed Lin, was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) for posting "The Complete Manual of Suicide," a comprehensive discourse on various methods of self-slaughter, on his web site.
Agents of CIB, during a routine patrol conducted on the Internet, stumbled upon Lin's site. According to officials, Lin has adopted the manual on his web site, which can be accessed by any web surfer that keys in "suicide" as the key word.
The guide comprehensively described suicide methods such as drug overdosing, drowning, and hanging, said CIB agents. The manual also listed information such as reminders and hints to make the methods effective.
CIB stated that web sites like this might have caused the sharp increase in suicides in April, when numerous people surfing the Internet got together and ended their lives.
When questioned by the police, Lin, 17, claimed that he does not have suicidal tendencies and did not intend to convince others to end their lives by posting the material. The manual, said Lin, has academic value. Because the material cannot be found in libraries and bookstores, Lin decided to procure a copy from another web site and post it on his own. The police transferred Lin to juvenile court where he will await his trial and sentence. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=54 2005/08/31 International drug manufacturers arrested in Manila :CIB

The China Post staff

Six suspects were placed under arrest and 64 kg of illegal drugs were seized as the Philippine police, acting on information provided by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), simultaneously raided three houses in a Manila suburb.
In April, CIB discovered that an illegal drug manufacturer began relocating narcotic producing machinery to the Philippines. Through the international police organization, CIB alerted the Philippine police, who began to monitor and track the suspects.
The Philippine police discovered that, during their stay, the suspects made frequent contacts with several unidentified males. CIB and the Philippine authorities speculated that the crime ring might have been collaborating with other criminal organizations.
The suspects, careful to evade police detection, moved their bases frequently, according to the police. Their clandestine nature caused the Philippine police to lose track of them several times.
However, CIB and the Philippine police persisted and continued to exchange information regarding the suspects.
After close to three months of monitoring, the Philippine police detected unusual activity from the suspects. Fearing that the opportunity might not present itself again, the Philippine police decided to close in and arrest them.
On Friday night, the Philippine police raided three houses in the West Triangle area in Quezon City and arrested six suspects. 65 kg of methamphetamine hydrochloride, called "shabu" locally, were confiscated during the raids. According to the police, the residences have been converted into illegal drug storage facilities.
The mastermind of the ring, however, still remains at large, stated CIB. With the information provided by the bureau and the swift reaction by the Philippine police, CIB stated that the case marks an important chapter in international crime fighting. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=48 2005/08/3 (August 24, 2005)
CIB cracks government contracts crime ring

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked a crime ring that utilized intimidation tactics to ward off potential bidders and gain monopoly over governmental contracts.
According to investigators, several gangs have tampered with the bidding process for several governmental projects. The criminal activities of the gangs have netted them at least NT$100 million in revenue per year, said CIB.
The operation, aimed at eradicating gang influence in the bidding process of heavy metal processing, started last year. A man, surnamed Wu, informed the police that he was threatened by mobsters to refrain from placing a bid for a project.
On the bidding day, Wu was brutally attacked by several assailants, who ambushed him in the parking lot, abducted him to a discreet location, and began beating him with cattle prod and bats. The suspects robbed Wu of his valuables, worth more than NT$800,000, and broke his legs.
After the incident, CIB intervened and began to monitor several gang members. The investigation revealed that the gangs have extended their tentacles into several heavy metal disposal and processing projects, all of them posted by governmental agencies.
For the past two years, the crime ring is suspected to be responsible for more than 20 instances of extortion, said CIB. The influence of the ring has infiltrated the navy, Taiwan Power Corporation, Taipei City government, and several other agencies.
Because Taiwan currently does not have the technology to process disposed heavy metal, the ring utilized their connections and subcontracted its bid to a company in Japan. During the process, they were able to reap extraordinary amounts of profit, said CIB.
A total of five suspects were arrested during a raid conducted by CIB yesterday morning. Evidence such as bidding forms, factory registry documents, and a rare riot control pistol were confiscated by CIB.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=53 2005/08/29 (August 15, 2005)
CIB calls for public help to capture 'apartment wolf'

The China Post staff

Police made public yesterday the sketch of one of the most elusive serial rapist dubbed as "apartment wolf" who has been preying on female victims in major cities in northern Taiwan for almost nine years.
Officers of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said the suspect's profile was acquired from the description of several women, especially a brave woman who gained a close look at the rapist when she was forced to have sex after being taken to the roof of her apartment in the Xinyi District of Taipei.
The CIB officers said they have instructed all police stations to pay attention to the "wolf hunting project" and distributed the suspect's profile.
Based on the victims' descriptions, the rapist has an egg-shaped face with a slightly hook nose. He has single eyelids and slight crepes between the two eyebrows; but the two brows form almost a level line when he squeezes his face.
The suspect stands between 170 and 175 cm tall and is aged between 30 and 40 with slightly curly hair and a darker skin.
The suspect already committed 11 rapes since the first case in October 1997. The victims were mostly female in their 20s and 40s living in the old-style apartments of four or five floors without elevators and guards.
He would either follow the victims into the apartments or break in through windows or the openings for air conditioners, said the CIB officers.
The rapes took place in Hsinchu, Taipei County (Zhongho and Sindian), and Taipei City (Daan, Xinyi and Songshan districts).
Police recently arrested a suspect dubbed as "Zhongshan wolf" at the Zhongshan District in Taipei. They once thought of the rapist -- Wong Zhong-hsien -- as the "apartment wolf."
But DNA tests of the rapists' saliva show they are two separate persons.
Police expressed concern that there might be some copycats to use the similar crime techniques.
The CIB urged the public to help track down the suspect for public safety.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=52 2005/08/25 (August 20, 2005)
CIB arrests former professional baseball player

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a former professional baseball player and two of his suspected accomplices for their suspected involvement in the recent sports gambling scandal.
Hung Tsung-chen, who used to be a member on the National Baseball Team, is currently a coach at a high school in Taipei County. CIB indicated that it believes that Hung was the courier that delivered large amounts of money to players in the Professional Baseball League and urged them to participate in rigging the game.
Investigators stated that Hung provided players on the La New Bears team with NT$2 million in July of this year. The players that were "bought" received a substantial amount, while unknowing players received NT$50,000 each for their "good performance" on the field.
After paying off the players, the members of the gambling ring would evaluate the odds before each game and determine if they want to rig the game. If the odds are favorable, they would then discreetly signal the players to lose on purpose, said investigators.
Lin Chien-hung and Wang Chien-chiang, both on the roster of the La New Bear team, were summoned for questioning by the police. Although Hung, Lin, and Wang denied involvement in the scandal, CIB revealed that they are in possession of substantial evident of their criminal activity.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=51 2005/08/25 (July 28, 2005)
CIB busts extortion ring

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday busted a 15-member crime ring allegedly extorting money from 10-odd famous local food manufacturers by threatening to poison their products, CIB officials said.
Following a month-long investigation, the police yesterday arrested the ring's mastermind Liao Chun-yi, 30, and his girlfriend Lin Yu-shih, 29, in Changhwa, central Taiwan, and other suspects in Taichung City, Taichung County and Taipei County.
The ring had reportedly extorted hundreds of thousands of New Taiwan dollars from at least six brand-name food makers by posting photos of alleged poisoned food on the Internet and then sending e-mails to victims under the name of "Master of Disguise" asking them to see the photos.
"The victims continued to receive harassing phone calls from the suspects even after they paid the money. This is a serious challenge to law and order," CIB officials said.
The ring was also suspected of involvement in credit card fraud, extortion of ransom with fake kidnappings and loan frauds.
The police also found that Lin Yu-shih's younger brother Lin Chen-hsueh and his girlfriend Chang Hui-ju jointly operated a karaoke house as a base for undertaking illegal operations.
In addition, the ring rented surrogate bank accounts at the cost of NT$1,000 per account, to facilitate money remittances by victims.
CIB officials urged the blackmailed food makers to join forces with the police to attack the new crime practice.
The suspects will be interrogated by the Taichung District Prosecutors' Office and then prosecuted on charges of blackmail and extortion.
Yesterday's arrests came two weeks after a man was sentenced to death for poisoning popular energy drinks Bullwild and Polyta B with cyanide in an extortion attempt that killed one person and injured three.
The poisoner, Wang Chin-chan, poisoned nine bottles of Bullwild and two bottles of Polyta B. Closed-circuit television cameras recorded Wang putting the 11 tainted drinks at 11 different stores.
In order to prevent other incidents of tampering or blackmail, the Taichung District Court decided to give Wang the death penalty based on three major reasons. One was that the data in Wang's notebook PC showed he was fully aware that cyanide could take human lives. Second was that the volume of cyanide placed by Wang in the drinks was enough to kill the drinker. And the third was that during the investigation and trial, Wang himself showed that he was clearly aware of the deadliness of cyanide.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=50 2005/08/23 (August 10, 2005)
CIB arrests gang member in Chungli City

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), acting on a tip, arrested a gang member yesterday in Chungli City, Taoyuan County, yesterday and seized a double barrel shotgun and a machine pistol from his residence.
According to CIB, Yang Shao-cheng, 25, is the son of a professional gambler, who recently made over NT$30 million in the lottery. Coming from a family with a history of heavy gambling, Yang, without exception, was engrossed with games of chance, said CIB.
The police chose to arrest Yang when he was meeting his father to celebrate father's day. Investigators stated that Yang displayed no remorse when caught, stating that the bust would no doubt raise his reputation in the mobster circle.
Yang's father also expressed nonchalantly that being arrested by the CIB instead of the police demonstrated his son is a heavy weight in the crime world instead of a petty gangster.
Interrogation of Yang revealed that his family has close ties with gambling lairs in the Taoyuan County area. Because of the enormous wealth accumulated through gambling, Yang often betted large amounts of money in one hand, sometimes losing millions of NT dollars without flinching, said CIB.
However, because Yang recently lost over NT$10 million while gambling, he decided to arm himself with firearms to ward off aggressive creditors. Informants also notified the police that Yang had attempted to sell of firearms in his possession to raise money for his debts.
The pistol found in Yang's residence is a CZ75 Automatic, a modified version of the original CZ75. It comes equipped with a spare magazine attached as a front grip and an extended barrel for longer range. The Czech police adopted variations of this pistol as their standard firearm. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=49 2005/08/15 (July 22, 2005)
CIB cracks ring luring women into prostitution in Japan

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked an international prostitution ring and arrested two female suspects at the Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) International Airport.
The two suspects, Li Hui-chu, 47, and Tsai Pei-yi, 49, acted as agents for Taiwanese women to engage in prostitution in Japan, said the police. Most of the victims sent to Japan are those with large amounts of debt, police say.
There are at least 150 Taiwanese women sent to over 1,000 clubs and pubs in Japan for the purpose of prostitution. Tsai, who worked as a prostitute in Japan when she was young, established the network. When she returned to Taiwan ten years ago, she began to recruit women by tricking them with ads in the newspaper that promised lucrative pay.
Tsai, describing the nature of work as being waitresses in pubs and night clubs, have victimized close to 1,000 women over the past decade, police say.
After being interviewed by Li and Tsai, the women would be sent on a flight to Japan, where they will then meet up with a contact. The contact would then hold their passports and plane tickets and force them into prostitution. The women were not allowed to return to Taiwan until they have worked out their debt.
Interrogation of the suspects revealed that Tsai and Li extracted NT$60,000 to NT$70,000 from the victims for every trip they make. The police believe that the duo has netted over NT$30 million over the years.
The police further discovered that Li and Tsai have been collaborating with several travel agencies in Taiwan when transporting the women victims to Japan. An in depth investigation is promised to seek out the unlawful travel agencies, indicated the investigators. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=47 2005/07/27 (July 22, 2005)
Chang Hsi-ming's transfer involves 200 police

The China Post staff

Captured fugitive Chang Hsi-ming, after being treated in Taichung County's Tungs' Metro Harbor Hospital for nine days, was transported to Chiayi Christian Hospital along with his accomplice under escort of over 200 police officers.
Chang was shot four times during a firefight against the police on June 13. He suffers from broken bones in his wrists and fractures in his spine. After he was captured, he was transported to intensive care in the nearby Tungs' Hospital.
Initially, doctors deemed Chang's condition to be critical. However, Chang managed to recover within the past few days. The police, for convenience of interrogating Chang, decided to transport him from Taichung to Chiayi.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), along with police forces from other units, escorted Chang to the new location. Massive police forces were stationed in Taichung City, Changhua County, Yunlin County, and Chiayi County to ensure Chang's safety.
When leaving Tung's Hospital, Chang stared into space and ignored the media. The police surrounded Chang and prevented bystanders from approaching him. According to doctors, Chang's vital signs are stable. However, he is in a weakened state because his gunshot wounds have been infected.
The hospital in Chiayi was chosen as Chang's new location for treatment because there are no surrounding high points around the medical institution. The police indicated that it is a safe place for the continual questioning of the criminal. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=46 2005/07/27 (July 6, 2005)
CIB cracks car stereo theft ring in southern Taiwan area

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) Tuesday cracked a crime ring and arrested three suspects under charges of car stereo theft.
In September last year, several hundred cases of car stereo system thefts in Pingtung, Kaohsiung, and Tainan area prompted the investigation by the police.
A task force, organized by investigators, filtered through numerous choppy surveillance camera footage and identified two suspects surnamed Lin and Shueh. After monitoring the duo, the police found that they are minions of three brothers surnamed Wu.
The three brothers exercised control over Lin and Shueh by providing them with drugs. According to investigators, the two had to commit car stereo theft once every two days to keep up with their drug abuse habit.
During a raid, the police discovered large amounts of stolen goods valued over NT$10 million. One of the Wu brothers was arrested while two is still at large.
For each stolen system, Lin and Shueh would receive up to NT$3,000 in cash or drugs as payment. The three brothers would then utilize the connections they developed through their car stereo shop and profit greatly with the stolen goods.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=45 2005/07/12 (June 23, 2005)
Gang member arrested for vandalizing Yu Tien's house

The China Post staff

The head of a Bamboo Gang subdivision was arrested by Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday on charges of vandalizing the Hsinchu mansion of local entertainer Yu Tien.
The suspect, 28-year-old Cheng Chien-cheng, was alleged to have sprayed paint on Yu's Hsinchu mansion on March 30 and left the message: "Yu is a fraud and owes people money."
Cheng turned out to be the head of the Bamboo Gang's Peitun subdivision, whose operations included money collection.
Along with Cheng, the Central Taiwan Crime Fighting Center of the CIB also arrested eight Gang members plus Chao Pai-lieh, who allegedly went to Cheng for help collecting money from Yu.
Chao claimed Yu owed him NT$6 million.
Yu yesterday denied all allegations by Chao and said he had already pressed charges against him, adding his lawyer was now handling everything.
According to Chao, he had lent money to Yu and his brother, entertainer Yu Ti. Yet Yu repaid him NT$6 million in checks, issued by "Star Factory, Ltd.," that all bounced.
Enraged, he went to Cheng for help through a middleman. On March 30 the Yu household found its mansion vandalized.
Commenting on the bounced checks, Yu said he did invest in a company called "Star Factory" yet had already left the firm since April 29, 2001.
He said, based on his understanding, a director of the firm, a woman named Chen Lee-ling, had borrowed money from different sources using his name. The entertainer had pressed charges against Chen as well, he said.
Yu had been seen on television a lot lately, especially last month in the wake of the apparent suicide of entertainer Ni Min-juan, whom Yu claimed to be one of his best friends. He had arranged the funeral and a memorial service for Ni, in which major Taiwan entertainers gathered to remember the deceased Ni.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=44 2005/07/1 (June 24, 2005)
DPP official arrested for multiple alleged rapes of teenage boys

The China Post staff

Police arrested an official of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Shihchi, Taipei County yesterday for allegedly raping an unspecified number of male teenagers in recent years.
An official of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said police raided the home of Tsai Mao-hsiung and picked him up after the parents of three junior high school students filed a report.
Police were surprised that Tsai is no other than the director of the Shihchi branch of the DPP.
One of the boys said that Tsai, 53, drove a car and offered him a ride in Shihchi in September last year.
Tsai also took the boy for a tour of the scenic spots in Taipei County the following day. After dining and wining, Tsai raped the student at a small hotel.
Later on, Tsai repeated called the student to his office for repeated raping by coercing him, including forced taking of drugs and beating him up. Tsai also threatened to massacre the boy's whole family if he was disobedient.
In addition, Tsai managed to force the boy to introduce two other friends in the same age group for raping. Only the third boy was smart enough to fight him off and escape.
Two of the boys told police that Tsai repeatedly raped them right in the second floor of the DPP branch office building which has a big sign welcoming people to join the DPP at its first floor gate.
Police uncovered some illegal drugs, including amphetamine, and aloe which was allegedly used by Tsai as lubricant during intercourse.
Tsai is an ex-convict with a record for threats, gambling, injury, and illicit sex activities.
He is presently serving his second term as the chief of the DPP branch.
According to CIB officials, there have been rumors about Tsai's kinky sexual behavior for years.
He was charged with having sex with other boys years earlier but the cases were settled out of the court.
Tsai, who is married with children of his own, already admitted to his sex with the boys to police.
Parents of the three latest victims said they became suspicious after detecting abnormal behaviors by their boys.
One of the students has started showing certain anti-social behaviors because of the gruesome experience.
There were reports that Tsai's victims could have reached between 10 to 30 considering his holding of the powerful political position for many years.
Police encouraged all victims to step out and provide evidence so that Tsai will face justice.
Showing his wrath over the scandal, DPP Chairman Su Tseng-chang, said Tsai will be expelled immediately from the party when he is convicted.
Su formerly served as magistrate of Taipei County and secretary-general to President Chen Shui-bian before taking over DPP chairmanship from Chen last year.
It remains unknown if Tsai was invited to attend a meeting of party officials chaired by President Chen two days ago to map out strategies for the year-end local elections of mayors and county chiefs.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=43 2005/07/1 (June 16, 2005)
11 drug peddlers held by CIB

The China Post staff

Eleven members of a group involved in drug peddling were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday in Shichih. Among those held include the notorious "drug empress" Fan Hsiu-liang, 43, who is the group's leader.
The CIB said that on June 9, Fan purchased NT$570,000 worth of amphetamines from a dealer nicknamed named "Ah Hsian" through one of her aides, surnamed Lin. However, the consignment she paid for never arrived. After the disgruntled Fan smelled something fishy between Lin and Ah Hsian, she kidnapped Lin and demanded a ransom of the same amount she paid for the drugs.
However, Lin's brother paid only NT$50,000, which to Fan was not satisfactory. But before matters could get worse, the police raided their hideout and arrested all the 11 persons involved in the kidnapping and seized their drugs and firearms.
Fan has past records of illegal carrying of firearms, kidnappings, and extortion. However, she is mainly known for drug dealing, which is how she acquired the nickname of "drug empress."
Fan is not the only member of her family who has been caught for dealing drugs.
Her ex-husband, Tsai Song-pou is currently serving his sentence for drug trafficking. This time, her son, You Ching-nan, and daughter Fan Yu-feng were also involved.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=42 2005/06/22 (June 15, 2005)
CIB charges Wang over 'funeral offerings' scandal

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday charged Taipei Councilor Wang Yu-cheng, along with six other suspects, with falsely accusing the two municipal mortuaries for selling "funeral offerings" to restaurant owners.
CIB, after questioning the seven suspects, has referred the case to prosecutors. Starting on June 9, CIB began questioning Wang's three assistants, former ETTV cameraman Sung Wen-cheng, and the two "actors" in the video footage, which was used as Wang for interpellation in the city council.
Although Wang insisted that he was ignorant of the fact that the video was a dramatic reenactment, the police decided that the councilor, along with the other six suspects, have falsely accused the two municipal owned mortuaries.
Wang produced the reenactment video on June 3. He claimed that the two funeral homes have been netting illegal profits by selling funeral offerings to restaurant owners. To strengthen his argument, he produced a video to show the shady dealings. The video, however, turned out to be a dramatic reenactment played by hired workers.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou, who was chastised fiercely by Wang when the "scandal" first broke, stated that, because the case is currently going through legal proceedings, City Hall will refrain from making comments. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=41 2005/06/20 CIB arrests 7 suspects for extortion and fraud

The China Post staff

After six months of monitoring and tracking, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested seven suspects and charged them with extortion, money laundering, and fraud.
According to CIB, the suspects used a well-known betel nut chain as a cover for their illegal activities, which involves staging false kidnappings and extorting ransom from victims. The crime ring also used fake lottery drawings to fleece money from the unsuspecting public.
A task force was created by CIB after it received reports from several victims last November. The victims told the police that the suspects would call them and inform them that one of their family members have been kidnapped. The victims were instructed by the suspects to wire money immediately into a specified account or they will harm the hostage.
To make their scheme more believable, the suspects would play sounds of someone getting beat up in the background, said CIB. Victims that receive the phone calls, after hearing the sounds of the beating, usually rush to deliver the money, hoping to save their relatives from harm.
CIB raid nine locations yesterday and arrested seven suspects. Investigators confiscated NT$2.3 million in cash, a bill counter, 162 ATM cards, 74 bank passbooks, 71 telephone cards, and 70 mobile phones.
On average, the ring makes up to NT$2 million per day through fraud and extortion. Over the past six months, the suspects have netted over a staggering sum of money, some of which were sent to the organization's mastermind in China. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=40 2005/06/16 CIB busts loan shark ring, arrest two brothers

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested two brothers and busted a loan shark ring, which victimized over 100 people.
Wei Yu-he and Wei Yu-yi, the two prime suspects, allegedly charged a 60 percent interest rate to people who are in dire need of cash. Starting in 2003, the Wei brothers have been loan sharking and were involved in violence with those unable to repay debts.
A 48-year-old woman from Taoyuan County, surnamed Chen, borrowed NT$200,000 from the duo. Because she could not shoulder the NT$120,000 monthly interest rate, she was assaulted by the suspects and severely injured.
After the beating, the brothers continued to threaten her and even made death threats on her family members. Snapping under pressure, Chen jumped to her death last year. In her suicide note, she instructed her family to repay all family debts except the one with the Wei brothers, since they forced her to commit suicide.
Another woman, 40, borrowed NT$30,000 from the brothers. Because she was late on one of her NT$12,000 monthly interest payments, the suspects forced her to have sex with them.
Investigation into the case revealed that the duo have connections with bank clerks from 18 financial institutions. Under the guise of credit card service representatives, they lured bank clients into borrowing money from them.
Claiming to be a branch of the bamboo union gang, the brothers even led their underlings and attended the funeral procession of "Mosquito Brother," a famed gang boss, last week.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=39 2005/06/16
The China Post staff
Police arrested three suspects yesterday who are connected with the kidnapping cases of a famous television personality and the president of a construction company.
The three alleged kidnappers, Chang Jung-feng, Huang Wen-huan, and Wu Ching-lung, kidnapped a Chiayi area television show host Wang Lien-fang and Chiu Nan-chi, the president of a construction company in Hsinchu City, said official from the central office of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said.
Wang was kidnapped in December last year and was set free after paying NT$18 million in ransom. The police captured several abductors but failed to pick up Chang, Huang, and Wu.
Because the three thought they did not receive a fair share after the kidnapping of Wang, they decided to double cross the other accomplices by hijacking the ransom money, NT$22 million in total, after abducting Chiu.
Shortly after they seized the ransom, they proceeded to gamble their money away in an underground casino in central Taiwan. Short on cash, they decided to plan another kidnap but were stopped in time by the police.
The three, after interrogation, admitted to have kidnapped Wang and Chiu. The CIB is expanding their investigation into the case, hoping to unearth the whereabouts of the other accomplices. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=33 2005/05/9 CIB cracks crime ring, eight people arrested

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked a crime ring and arrested eight people who reportedly extorted NT$1.1 million from Olympic gold-medalist Chu Mu-yan.
According to investigators, Chu, who won an Olympic gold medal for Taiwan in the taekwondo competition, accidentally fell into a trap set up by the crime ring while conversing online in a chatroom. Chu yesterday adamantly stated that the chatroom he visited is not pornographic like the media had described. He urged the public to focus on the extortion case instead of rumors.
A reported NT$1.1 million was remitted to the suspects, who threatened to make public Chu's conversation with a supposed prostitute in the pornographic chatroom.
The suspects, discovering Chu's identity, demanded more money from him. After Chu refused, he received death threats made to him and his family by the blackmailers.
CIB revealed that the eight arrested are only underlings of two brothers surnamed Lo, who were based in China and run the extortion scheme from there.
The women that Chu spoke with on the Internet, according to investigators with CIB, are all from China. The eight arrested suspects were responsible for collecting money from victims, while the Lo brothers operated the Internet site.
Police added that prior to their arrest, the suspects collected NT$3 million in a single day from ATMs in Taoyuan and Hsinchu. To prevent others from falling victim to fraud, the police decided to apprehend the eight. The location of the Lo brothers is currently unknown by the police. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=38 2005/05/26 (May 18, 2005)
Trojan program aimed to steal money from online accounts

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday arrested a man, who apparently utilized a self-made Trojan program to steal information on banking customers.
Hoping to combine the convenience of the Internet and the privacy of IC cards, many banks have begun to provide online banking services, commonly known as "WebATM."
These online services range from checking account balances, paying taxes, shopping, and transferring funds. The only two devices needed by bank clients is a magnetic card swiper and an IC chip reader.
The suspect, surnamed Chen, used Internet "phishing" to widely distribute Trojan programs, which he created to record information on IC chips, said CIB. Most of the people that buy the devices are required to install software programs for the equipment to work. Chen would then send out emails in large quantities, tricking people to download his Trojan, which he claims to be the upgraded version of the software.
Most people would unknowingly allow the program into their computers, since upgrading software is a common occurrence, said CIB.
The Trojan program, after it is implanted in the computers of unsuspecting customers, will enable Chen to access the victims' information regarding their bank account number and PIN, explained CIB.
Chen then purchased card-making equipment, hoping to forge credit cards with the stolen information. Fortunately, the files the obtained were incomplete and he was unable to withdraw money with the fake cards.
After several months of tracking, agents from CIB finally found and arrested Chen.
Chen stated that, because he lost a lot of money during a failed business venture, he hoped to regain the losses through illegal means. A program to clear the Trojan program will be posted on the CIB web site at http://www.cib.gov.tw/. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=37 2005/05/26 (May 17, 2005)
Cornered murder suspect shoots himself in the head

The China Post staff

A fugitive, surrounded by more than 30 police officers, shot himself in the head after a fierce exchange of fire yesterday in Taichung County.
The suspect, Chen Bo-hung, is wanted for murder, said the police. He was involved in a shooting during a robbery of an underground casino in Chunghwa County, where he shot and killed one of its patrons, Liao Ming tien.
Six of Chen's accomplices were arrested by the police and a large number of guns and ammunition were confiscated. After the arrest of his partners in crime, Chen went into hiding and recently resurfaced to terrorize owners of illegal casinos by extorting them.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau's (CIB) and Chunghwa Police Bureau, after seven months of tracking Chen, found leads to his whereabouts by following his girlfriend, surnamed Chang.
Around 1 a.m., CIB, along with agents from other police forces, assaulted Chen's apartment with more than 30 officers. They broke into the place after their calls for Chen to surrender were met with silence.
Chen fired upon the agents when they closed in on the bedroom. One of the rounds fired by Chen struck the bulletproof shield held by one of the policemen. The officers swiftly returned fire with superior firepower.
After a fierce exchange, Chen attempted to escape through the second story window, but gave up when he discovered nearby agents. He then held his position and attempted to make a stand to avoid arrest. However, he perceived that resistance was futile after his pistol jammed three times in a row and shot himself in the head with another gun.
The police secured the room and found two pistols and 39 shots of ammo next to Chen, including three bullets that appeared to have jammed his gun. The suspect was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=36 2005/05/26
The China Post staff

A couple in Taoyuan County who made close to NT$10 million in a short four months by selling methylene dioxyamphetamine (MDA) to foreign laborers was arrested yesterday, said the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB).
MDA is commonly known as Yaba in Taiwan. It is also nick named "Hitler's Poison" by its users, said the police. MDA drug users often experience hallucinations and will have aggressive tendencies. The drug is gaining acceptance on the drug scene because it can be ingested, snorted, or sometimes injected, according to a drug control agency.
A drug abuse prevention center in the U.S. pointed out that the drug is more powerful than amphetamine due to the various additives. There are many murder cases in Thailand committed by MDA users, due to the drug's ability to incite aggression.
The police suspect that most of the violent crimes committed by Thai laborers are caused by the newly emerging drug.
CIB revealed that the two suspects, Tuan Yun-feng and Chang Yu-shan, have been selling the drugs for close to four months at the price of NT$500 a tablet. They added caffeine, spice, and paint to enhance the effect of the drugs, making the substance hazardous to human health, stated CIB.
Because he was initially uninformed of the composition of MDA, Tuan even tested the drugs on himself, which resulted in two trips to the emergency room.
Tuan and Chang moved to Taiwan in 1989. Tuan, fluent in Thai and perceiving a drug abuse problem in the foreign laborer population, decided to manufacture MDA from his home drug lab after failing to secure a job.
He would distribute the drugs daily in the industrial districts, sometimes even traveling to Taichung and Tainan to meet the urgent demands by the workers.
After raiding the drug lab, the police confiscated close to seven kilograms of the processed drug and modified pistols and ammunition. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=35 2005/05/16 CIB, police rescue kidnapped pharmacist, nab seven suspects

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), along with the police, arrested seven suspects and successfully rescued a pharmacist, who was kidnapped on Tuesday.
CIB, while monitoring phone calls during investigation of a drug related case, accidentally stumbled upon information on the pharmacist's kidnap. The pharmacist, surnamed Huang, was gambling with his friends in Hsinchu when several armed gunmen barged in and took him hostage.
Huang was taken to a hideout, where he was beaten and forced to give up the PIN for his ATM card. The suspects robbed Huang of his car, cash, and watch, and withdrew NT$480,000 from his account.
The suspects demanded an NT$10 million ransom for the safe release of Huang.
The police, 25 hours after the kidnapping of Huang, located the hideout of the group and arrested seven suspects. Quantities of heroine, amphetamine, a modified pistol, and three rounds of ammo were seized by the police.
One of the suspects, surnamed Ko, told police that Huang double crossed him and stole NT$10 million worth of amphetamine. Ko claimed that, after several failed attempt to recover the drugs, he decided to abduct Huang.
Huang adamantly denied all allegations made by Ko. The police, after determining that Huang has previous crime records associated with drugs, will continue to investigate the case. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=34 2005/05/16
The China Post staff

Police arrested four men for their producing and marketing fake Microsoft certificates of authenticity (COA) that have infringed on the software company's intellectual property rights.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said two men were taken from their workshop in Sungshan, Taipei City and another pair were picked up in Taipei County.
Police also confiscated 33 sheets of a wide variety of fake certificates for Windows 98, Windows XP and other software systems.
The four have colluded with partners in China to produce and sell the COA stickers -- which are normally glued onto PC sets like product labels and regarded as the ID certificates for personal computers.
Some Taiwan information-technology companies acquired the stickers at relatively high prices and placed them on their PCs both sold in Taiwan and shipped abroad.
Computers with these fake authenticity stickers were first found in Australia last July. Australian police tracked the supply source to Taiwan.
With the tip-off and cooperation from Australian officials, local police made the raids and arrests
CIB officials said the law enforcement agents in Taiwan will continue fighting economic crimes like IPR infringement.

]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=32 2005/04/21
The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday cracked a fraud case and arrested a couple, who swindled over NT$30 million from elderly veterans.
The suspects, Liu Shing-lung, 44, and his wife, Wang Yi-wen, 36, forged insurance policies and defrauded at least 50 people, most of them elderly veterans and teachers. The CIB estimated the amount of money to be approximately NT$30 million.
Starting in 2000, Liu disguised himself as a sales person from an insurance company and counterfeited insurance policies to trick his victims. Wang remained behind the scenes and was responsible for miscellaneous tasks such as accounting and advertising. Most of the targeted victims are elderly veterans, according to the CIB.
The CIB began tracking the two after an insurance company reported that many customers have called to query their insurance status, about which the company does not have information. The agents of the bureau traced the victims' money and discovered that the funds were wired into a puppet account.
After monitoring the couple for several months, the CIB arrested the two and discovered over 1,000 counterfeit insurance policies and money wire receipts.
The bureau said that the duo targeted elderly veterans because they are categorized in the "high risk" age group. Liu even had a stack of name cards that describe him as a staff member of the Veterans Association of the Republic of China to earn the trust of his victims.
According to some victims, Liu and a KMT legislator enjoy a close relationship and can often be seen in public together. The police, after putting the two into custody, will investigate further if the said legislator is involved in the case. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=31 2005/04/14 March 20, 2005)
CIB nabs 10 credit card fraud suspects

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday nabbed 10 suspects for their alleged involvement in credit card fraud with help from banks in Britain, France, and Malaysia.
According to CIB, the criminal organization, headed by Ke Min hsiang, first obtained valid credit card numbers and PIN numbers through the Internet from criminal groups stationed abroad. They then use the numbers to churn out fake Taiwan credit cards.
The cards are then given to members of the organization as they travel to all parts of Taiwan to purchase electronic appliances with expensive price tags.
When merchants process the cards, they will receive an authorization code and think that the card is valid. However, when they receive notification from foreign banks indicating an irregular transaction, the suspects will be long gone.
According to CIB, the organization netted at least US$5 million, which is approximately NT$170 million.
CIB, along with help from banks in Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, and Malaysia, tracked all the transactions and located several suspects. After several months of monitoring, the police arrested 10 suspects located in Taipei and Taichung City. The mastermind behind the organization, only known by his alias "Tung," is still at large. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=30 2005/03/24 (March 11, 2005)
No evidence to show suspected assassin at scene: CIB chief The

The China Post staff

Hou Yu-ih, commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), testified before lawmakers yesterday there is no evidence to show the likeliest suspect who shot President Chen Shui-bian on March 19 last year was at the scene of the attempted assassination.
Under fire for claiming an "important breakthrough" in the mystery-shrouded incident, the nation's top criminal detective told a Legislative Yuan committee meeting police "reasoned" Chen Yi-hsiung, the suspect who is dead, must have been on the spot.
The suspect, wearing a yellow jacket, was seen running away on a video from a place far from the scene of the crime.
"We reasoned he, running at a speed of 25 meters per nine seconds, must have been on the hot spot," Hou said.
Asked repeatedly by lawmakers if there was any video showing the suspect at the scene, Hou said: "No. We do not have hard evidence to prove that the suspect was there."
He denied Mrs. Chen Yi-hsiung was under duress to appear on a police video offering a public apology for what her husband had done.
The tape was played on Tuesday, the day after police had claimed the breakthrough. She appeared with her back facing the camera.
"She agreed to be taped," Hou said. "But she first refused to have it aired. So it wasn't on Monday. She agreed the next day."
The commissioner also denied the Chen family are placed under house arrest. They include Mrs. Chen, her son and daughter-in-law.
"They are under police protection, which they have requested," said Hou.
Mrs. Chen was first questioned as a defendant and then as a material witness, Hou said. "We asked her to retain a legal counselor, but she refused," he added.
Regarding the suspect's cause of death, Hou said he himself has some doubt. The suspect was a good diver, but his death was caused by accidental drowning, according to a Tainan district prosecutor.
With the certificate of death from the prosecutor, Mrs. Chen cremated her husband on the day when his body was found afloat on a Tainan canal.
Police identified the suspect because Mrs. Chen said her husband told her he had shot at the president. But her word was not recorded in a deposit she made with police. The yellow jacket was also destroyed. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=29 2005/03/22 (March 8, 2005)

Suspect of 3-19 shooting identified
The China Post staff

Police yesterday identified the likeliest suspect who shot President Chen Shui-bian on March 19 last year, almost a year after the shooting that helped him win reelection.
Hou Yu-ih, commissioner of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, told a press conference the suspect was Chen Yi-hsiung, an unemployed former wrestling coach at Tainan.
But, the nation's top detective said, the suspect killed himself by drowning on March 28, nine days after the incident that swung the election in President Chen's favor on the following day.
The president won a second term with a razor-thin margin of fewer than 30,000 out of the 13 million votes cast. His challenger, Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan, has yet to concede defeat, appealing to the Taiwan High Court to invalidate the election.
Before he had drowned himself at a Tainan canal, the suspect left three suicide notes, Hou said. All three notes, however, were destroyed.
"They were burned by his wife," Hou said.
It was his wife who admitted her husband tried to kill the president, Hou said. "She said her husband said in the note he left her he was depressed because he could not sell his house because of the economic downturn," he told reporters.
She was also quoted as saying her husband told her he hated President Chen.
No shooting was mentioned in any of the three notes, Hou said.
The wife watched a police TV replay of video footage showing "a middle-aged man in yellow" at the scene of the shooting and confronted her husband after Election Day.
Mrs. Chen said that middle-aged man looked like her husband and asked him if he shot the president, Hou added. "He admitted and said he would deal with the matter himself," the police detective chief quoted her as telling his investigators.
Investigators said Chen was 64 when he was drowned.
On March 29 Chen's body was found afloat on the canal and recovered. On the same day, Mrs. Chen identified the body, obtained a certificate of death caused by accidental drowning, and cremated it overnight, investigators added.
Hou did not claim the mystery-shrouded case was solved.
All he claimed is that police are getting nearer to the solution, because they have yet to recover the homemade pistol the suspect was believed to have fired.
"We can say we have made a great breakthrough," Hou pointed out.
One of the two homemade bullets grazed President Chen's abdomen. The other hit a knee of Vice President Annette Lu, who was riding with him aboard an open jeep on a campaign motorcade at Tainan when the suspect was believed to have fired on them.
Two casings were found on the road hours later, and they, together with the bullets -- all examined by Chinese-born forensic expert Henry Lee in the United States -- helped police track down an underground gunsmith, Tang Shou-yi.
Tang was arrested on December 14 last year.
The suspect bought the gun and bullets from Tang, Hou said.
Similar guns and bullets were used to simulate the March 19 firing, Hou said. "The results showed," he added, "the suspect used the gun and bullets he bought from Tang."
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=28 2005/03/22 (March 6, 2006)
CIB makes fraud raids and arrests 15

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday raided several locations yesterday and arrested 15 people for their involvement in fraudulent activities.
CIB, after a year of investigation, found that a suspect, 28, nicknamed "little Lin," contacted his Taiwan accomplices through mobile phones and used several well- known companies as a cover to conduct illegal operations.
The methods used to swindle money out of the public include lottery prizes, mobile phone messaging, and the use of web sites to relay fraudulent messages. It is estimated that the swindlers have amassed over NT$1 billion over the past year.
The suspects even exploited the Southeast Asia tidal wave disaster and disguised themselves as workers for some famous media companies to trick the public for donation money.
After long periods of monitoring, the police arrested 15 people and discovered more than 200,000 copies of lottery winning notifications, certificates from a Hong Kong lottery center, and promotion pamphlets.
According to CIB, the 15 suspects belong to two different "families" in the crime organization. They are both cooperative and competitive in nature and will often hold meetings to discuss new ways to conduct their illegal business. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=27 2005/03/21
CIB seize NT$70 million in counterfeit watches, arrest seller

The China Post staff

Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday seized nearly 300 fake brand name watches and arrested a man they contend has already sold millions of dollars worth of the counterfeits.
Hsu Hong-chang was apprehended yesterday for fraud and the illegal sale of merchandise. The CIB officials believe Hsu, 35, has been selling counterfeit watches for nearly two years.
The CIB had received a tip that a man was selling international brand name watches in the greater Taipei area and started to investigate. They eventually found Hsu with his merchandise. At the time of the arrest, Hsu was in possession of nearly 300 watches which police say have a street value of up to NT$70 million.
Among his stock, police found fake quality watches meant to pass off with such brand names as Ventura Zenith and Piaget. Some of the watches were going for as much as NT$12,000.
Before turning to counterfeit sales, Hsu was working on a master's degree in history from the economics department at Tamkang University. More than two years ago, police say, Hsu started selling the counterfeits from his truck around Taipei County.
It is believed that he has already sold several thousand watches, making over NT$100,000 each month. Many of his customers were visitors and area workers.
Hsu told police that he was already looking to change his occupation by preparing for national tests to become a civil servant.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=26 2005/03/21
(March 6, 2005)
CIB nabs woman for pushing counterfeit products on Internet

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) arrested a woman, who claimed that she is the goddaughter of KMT Vice Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung, for pushing counterfeit products on the Internet yesterday.
The woman, Hsieh Ching-fei, has previous criminal records for extortion and fraud. Other than falsely claiming to be Wu's goddaughter, Hsieh, 36, also lied about having a master's degree from a Canadian university and being a psychic.
Claiming to be one of Taiwan's richest persons, Hsieh runs a company that is involved in purchasing fake name brand products from China and Hong Kong and later selling them on the Internet.
Hsieh was arrested on charges of fraud and violating product labeling laws.
After evidence collection, the police raided Hsieh's residence and confiscated several fake LV and Prada bags and accessories. The police also discovered a Ministry of Defense seal and the chop of an army general. The police and military are currently investigating the source of the two items. ]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=25 2005/03/21
Tax refund schemes resurfacing again: CIB

The China Post staff

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) yesterday alerted the public to guard against the scam of cheating money out of people in the name of "refunding income tax payments."
Officers of the CIB under the National Police Agency (NPA) said the Ministry of Finance (MOF) have completed reviewing consolidated income tax returns filed by taxpayers last year.
While some taxpayers are required to make up shortfall in their tax payments, most will be entitled to refunds on grounds that they overpaid the tax through the tax withholding system by their employers.
The MOF's tax offices around the island will soon start mailing the refund in the form of checks to taxpayers to give them one month to cash the checks.
However, police officers at the CIB found that perpetrators of the con syndicates have also started disguising as tax officials to tell people to either make up shortfalls in their tax payments by remitting money into designated bank accounts or using the automated teller machines (ATMs) to complete the transactions.
The callers also solicited people's bank accounts for the purpose of wiring the refunds into their accounts.
During the process, the con men are able to steal the financial data of taxpayers or siphon money from their bank accounts.
CIB officials stressed that when taxpayers received unsolicited phone calls about tax matters, they should first use the "104" information service to talk to their local tax offices for confirmation.
They said all the MOF notices mailed to taxpayers bear the addresses and phone numbers as well as the names of personnel handling the tax cases for contact.
The taxpayers should take a trip to their banks with the checks sent by the MOF to deposit them into their bank accounts.
They should never take the bait when receiving the offer of wiring money into their bank accounts from the so-called "tax officials," the CIB officials added.


]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=24 2005/03/18 The China Post (2005/02/04)

The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) busted the biggest fake handbag retailer in North Taiwan yesterday and discovered thousands of products, which were worth NT$100 million on the market.
Sung Ping-yi, 35, has been selling fake Louis Vuitton (LV) handbags and leather products for over a year. His source, an overseas Chinese merchant, airlifted the counterfeit merchandise into Taiwan, a CIA official said.
The police confiscated approximately 1,600 articles of handbags and leather products along with 5,000 boxes and wrapping paper. They also discovered more than sixty fake Gucci, Rado, and Cartier watches.
In order to evade detection by the police, Sung contacted many store clerks in boutiques and night market stores to promote his products for him. Sometimes Sung will arrange secret meetings with potential customers and provide them with samples he has in stock.
According to CIA, some of the fake LV purses sold on line were also provided by Sung. He sometimes enter chat rooms on line to gain a better understanding of the market to better "compete" with others.
According to the police, the fake products sold by Sung are almost identical to the real thing. The size, cut, and patterns on the products can confuse even an expert.
Selling at one third of the price, Sung might have amassed more than millions in the past year, said the police.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=21 2005/02/15
Six Bamboo Union gang members were arrested yesterday under charges of firearm and drug possession.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB), divided into seven teams, raided the suspects' hiding places in Taipei City and County, Taoyuan City, and Taichung City.
Two modified shotguns, a pistol, 38 bullets, approximately 3,000 ecstasy pills, Ketamine, and some marijuana were discovered by the police.
Last May, a gang member, surnamed Wu, was attacked by an unknown gunman in Taichung while he was in a night market with his family. Wu's brother, along with two men, sought revenge and murdered a merchant, surnamed Liu, who they believed to be the person behind the hit.
The CIB later discovered that the conflict between the two was created because both of them attempted to win the affection of a hostess in a bar. After the case was cracked, the police began to closely monitor movements of the Bamboo Union.
After months of investigation, the police collected sufficient evidence that the gang members are utilizing a bar as a cover to deal drugs. Yesterday's raid turned out several weapons and 10,418 grams of Ketamine, 2,949 ecstasy pills, and 7.6 grams of marijuana.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=20 2005/02/15
The commission had scheduled for the bureau to present a report on its investigations into the March 19 shooting of President Chen Shui-bian and Vice President Annette Lu early yesterday — but was left waiting all morning as bureau detectives did nothing, reportedly under pressure from superiors.

The move follows Thursday's trade of insults between commission members and five government ministers.

Opposition politicians are arguing the commission is conducting a legal investigation as a law was passed in the Legislature authorizing its operation, but the government says the commission is unconstitutional as it operates outside the nation's judicial system.

Commission spokeswoman Wang Ching-feng said the commission would go of its own accord to the Criminal Investigation Bureau next week.

She said the commission would not punish the bureau for its lack of cooperation although it had this authority, saying the people to blame were the high-ranking government officials and not grassroots detectives.

"The aims of the 'truth investigation commission' and police and prosecutors are the same," she said. "There are many areas where we will rely on their support."

Wang said in the past few days the bureau had been closely liaising with the commission to ask it about the documents it needed to see, how much time it would need and other details.

She said the bureau's no show yesterday was unexpected.

Wang said police and detectives from the bureau were working very hard and the order from above was "completely illegal".

In the afternoon, the commission paid a visit to the Tainan District Prosecutor's Office.

Tainan is President Chen's hometown and the city where the shooting occurred.

Tainan prosecutors told local media they had been instructed by the government to be courteous but not present a formal report to the commission.

Prosecutors in charge of investigating the assassination attempt said they had prepared relevant documents but it was still not clear if they would end up handing them over to the commission.

Meanwhile, Legislative Speaker Wang Jyn-ping said one to three legislators from each main political camp would take part in a debate conducted by the Council of Grand Justices on whether the commission should stop operations.

The legislators will present their opinions to the council, which will then debate the matter privately behind closed doors.

The debate, requested by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, will focus on the constitutional validity of the law authorizing the commission.

The Legislature received a formal letter from the Judicial Yuan yesterday evening requesting the island's parliament send representatives to take part in the debate. The name list is expected to be sent to the Judicial Yuan on October 15.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=10 2004/12/5
Government Information Office Director General has alleged that China is using Taiwanese and Hong Kong business interests as a front to take control of two money-losing radio stations and certain print media.

Lin has not named the establishments, but said one of the radio stations was in Kaohsiung, and the other in Taichung.

Two radio stations resembling Lin's descriptions have denied the accusations.

Basing on Lin's revelations, the Investigation Bureau is now tracking the investments in the radio stations and the print media, according to the China Times Express.

The bureau yesterday was cited as saying that the probe is not meant to be a political persecution of the media industry, but uncovering Chinese capital is a necessary step for national security.

The bureau will never interfere with the press and speech freedoms, its officials were cited as saying.
]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=9 2004/12/5 Further identity of the teenager surnamed Wu studying at a south Taiwan junior college was withheld.

"We made the arrest and arraigned the boy before a public prosecutor on charges of forgery and fraud," a CIB spokesman told the press in Taipei.

Taiwan has yet to have a law against hacking. Wu's is the first 'phishing' case Taiwan cracked. 'Phishing' is an e-mail based scam devised to extract personal information from Internet users.

If convicted, the young hacker may be sentenced to three to five years in prison.

No date and place of the arrest were revealed, but police were quoted as saying Wu was stunned when his home was raided.

His irate father, who knows nothing about hacking, berated and tried to beat up the boy, when arresting police officers confronted them.

The youth begged for mercy, one police officer said.

"He was scared to death, when he saw us," the officer said, "and we had a hard time calming his father down."

All the boy wanted, the officer quoted him as saying, was "to appear smart." "He studied a hacking manual and tried to show off his knowledge by 'phishing' a dozen (computer) users," he added.

In fact, an investigator said, Wu cheated them of little money.

"Sure, the boy got their addresses and information, but he did little else, and no real damage was done," said the police investigator.

Police started the investigation on complaint from a couple of users and at the request of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, the CIB spokesman said.

The FBI informed the CIB a number of U.S. banks, including the Bank of America and Chase Manhattan, have been 'phished' possibly by hackers in Taiwan.

Whether the boy was bailed out is unknown. But the CIB official promised not to tell the junior college authorities of the hacking lest the student should be expelled.]]> http://www.cib.gov.tw/english/news/news_content.aspx?CN_Serial=13 2004/12/20