A nationwide crackdown on gangs was launched on Tuesday morning and 931 alleged gangsters had been arrested by yesterday morning, the National Police Agency (NPA) said yesterday.
Twenty-two gang bosses, 201 gang members and 708 other gangsters were arrested in the crackdown, the agency said in a statement.
The crackdown came on the eve of the funeral for Bamboo Union gang leader Chen Chi-li (陳啟禮) today. Chen died of pancreatic cancer in Hong Kong on Oct. 4.
The police agency said the Bamboo Union was the main target of the crackdown, and six leaders of the gang's branches had been apprehended.
Alleged branch leader Chang Wei-an (張維安) and eight of his alleged gang members were arrested yesterday for selling drugs in Ilan County.
Chang had been chosen to be one of the 10 Bamboo Union pallbearers for today's funeral, which police said was an indication of his status in the gang.
Police said Chang and his gang members were dressed all in black when they were arrested. The suspects reportedly said they were preparing to wear the clothes to the funeral.
Alleged branch leader Chao Fang-mo (趙芳模) was arrested with 26 of his alleged gang members on Tuesday.
Police said Chao had become branch leader three months ago and had recruited a number of new members.
Police said members of the Heavenly Way Gang (天道盟) had also been targeted in the crackdown, and several of its leaders had been apprehended.
Police said the gangsters would be charged with violating the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例).
The NPA said hundreds of police officers would be stationed at the funeral hall to monitor Chen Chi-li's funeral. It said it wanted to ensure that gang members did not use the funeral to promote gang activity or recruit new members.
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS