Prosecutors yesterday questioned the alleged accountant of the “Windshield Wipers” gang that is suspected of bribing professional baseball players in a game-fixing scandal.
The “accountant,” Huang Jen-yi (黃仁義), was questioned by prosecutors yesterday about the gang’s relations with professional baseball players.
Prosecutors said they believe questioning Huang and other alleged gang members will help them discover which players were approached to become involved in the game-fixing, as well as how much they were paid and whether compensation took the form of money, gifts or drinking parties with female escorts.
The head of the “Windshield Wipers,” Tsai Cheng-yi (蔡政宜), and his associates are suspected of establishing a gambling ring that placed bets on professional baseball games and recruited professional players to play poorly to manipulate the outcome of games.
Aside from Huang, prosecutors yesterday questioned former La New Bears pitcher Huang Chun-chung (黃俊中). He has been detained and listed as a defendant in the case on suspicion he acted as a middleman between the gang and baseball players.
Since the investigation began, prosecutors have listed 12 members of the Brother Elephants as defendants on suspicion of game-fixing, including Elephants coach Shim Nakagomi, who was released on bail of NT$80,000 on Tuesday.
He had been apprehended at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Monday as he prepared to take a flight back to his native Japan.
This is the fifth time in 20 years that professional baseball players in Taiwan have been investigated for throwing games. The latest probe began last week after the Elephants lost 5-2 to the Uni-President Lions in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) championship.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
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