Taiwanese who commit aggravated fraud overseas are now to be subject to punishment in Taiwan after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment to the Criminal Code yesterday.
The amendment to Article 5 of the Criminal Code added “aggravated fraud” to the list of offenses committed “outside the territories of the Republic of China” to which the Criminal Code will apply, making it easier to prosecute suspects in Taiwan.
The revision is to take effect when it is promulgated by the president, a formality that usually takes about two weeks.
Photo: CNA
Under existing law, aggravated fraud is not among the offenses listed under Article 5, making it nearly impossible for authorities to prosecute alleged fraudsters after they return to Taiwan.
In some cases, offenses committed overseas, but not listed in Article 5, may still be covered by the Criminal Code, but only if they are punishable by at least three years in jail.
As people guilty of fraud in Taiwan face jail sentences of between one and seven years and fines of up to NT$1 million (US$31,378), many cases do not meet the three-year threshold.
These legal loopholes have often forced prosecutors to drop cases against citizens suspected of committing fraud overseas.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華), who proposed the amendment, said a spate of recent cross-border telecom fraud cases involving Taiwanese called attention to the nation’s lenient treatment of its citizens committing fraud overseas and the possibility that it encouraged more criminal activity.
These cross-border fraud cases have tarnished the image of Taiwan’s judicial system and given the impression that “Taiwan is unwilling to harshly crack down on fraud and condones the perpetrators’ actions,” or that “Taiwan is a haven for fraudsters,” she said.
Hsu supported Taiwan’s judicial authorities having jurisdiction over Taiwanese who commit fraud overseas, which she said would live up to the expectations of the public and improve the image of the nation’s judiciary.
Dozens of Taiwanese have been arrested in countries such as Kenya, Malaysia and Indonesia over the past year for suspected involvement in fraud rings that were scamming people in China.
China then pushed, successfully in most cases, to have Taiwanese sent to China for prosecution rather than to Taiwan, arguing that it had jurisdiction over the cases because the victims were in China and Taiwan would not punish the suspects.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS