An anonymous tipster, whose information led to the arrest of notorious gangster Hu Guan-bao (胡關寶) 14 years ago, yesterday complained that he did not receive the NT$10 million reward that he was promised.
The case involved the kidnapping of Taishin Financial Holding Co Chairman Eric Wu (吳東亮). Hu and his associates kidnapped Wu in 1990 and demanded NT$100 million from his family. Wu was released on Dec. 18, 1990, after his family paid the ransom. The tipster, who is only identified by his surname Huang, informed police as to the whereabouts of Hu and his fellow kidnappers. Police arrested Hu and his gang in Christmas Day the same year.
Yesterday, Huang contacted local Chinese-language media and told them the Wu family had promised a NT$10 million reward to whoever provided useful information that led to the arrest of the kidnappers, but he never received the money. Huang also told the media he thinks the police confiscated the money. Police and the Wu family denied such a reward was ever offered.
"For the case, we did provide a NT$1 million reward to a tipster who helped us arrest the suspects. That money has been delivered and everything is on our records," said Kao Cheng-sheng (高政昇), deputy commissioner of the National Police Agency's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB). "We never offered a reward as high as NT$10 million and neither did the Wu family," Kao said.
Former National Police Agency director-general Chuang Heng-dai (莊亨岱) and former CIB commissioner Lu Yu-jun (盧毓鈞) -- who were involved in the 1990 case, also said that they never heard of a NT$10 million offered by the Wu family.
Hu was sentenced to death and executed immediately after his conviction. In addition to kidnapping Wu, he also murdered two military guards in Hsinchu and was the first gangster in Taiwan who possessed a bachelor's degree.
After Hu was arrest, he denied all the allegations and refused to confess during police interrogation.
But current CIB Commissioner Hou You-yi (侯友宜) successfully talked Hu into confessing to the crimes and divulge the location of a rifle, which served as a key piece of evidence during his trial. Six months later, the police found the evidence at a location in the middle of nowhere in Hsintien after Hu pointed it out for authorities.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
‘POOP ON STAGE’: The song, which talks about the reluctance to graduate and anxiety about a lack of job opportunities, resonated with many students’ feelings The original song Poop on Stage has been chosen as National Taiwan University’s (NTU) graduation song this year, sparking much debate regarding the song’s title and content, which describes students’ anxiety about post-graduation unemployment. The title, Shang Tai Da Bian (上台大便), is a play on words that literally means “go on stage to poop.” The first three characters, shang tai da (上台大), also mean “to attend NTU,” as “Taida” is a common abbreviation for the university. The last character, bian (便), can mean “convenient” or “then,” but is more commonly associated with defecation. The lyrics of the song describe students’ reluctance to graduate and
RSS