TV entertainer He Yi-hang (賀一航) was arrested yesterday for alleged drug possession and possible distribution, prosecutors said.
The Taoyuan County Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Corps confirmed He was arrested at his residence in Taipei, saying he was escorted to the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning.
Taoyuan Prosecutor Yeh Yi-fa (葉益發) said police had been investigating “Tsai-shen,” a major brothel in northern Taiwan, and monitoring telephone conversations between the operators of the brothel and customers. During the probe, officers established that He was a regular client, the police said.
PHOTO: CNA
Based on his conversations, it was determined that he likely had amphetamines and ketamine in his possession and may have sold the drugs to other entertainers, police said.
Taoyuan police arrested He at about 3pm, after an unsuccessful attempt in the morning.
Police said the brothel had 15 branches in northern Taiwan, with more than 100 “employees,” some from Russia, Spain and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Yuan Ju-chih (苑汝琦), a former TV show assistant producer and former boyfriend of model Yvonne Yao (姚采穎), and Ricky Shu, a Taiwanese-American, were indicted yesterday on suspicion of smuggling cocaine into the country.
Taipei prosecutors said the pair was suspected of smuggling cocaine into the country on three occasions. Transportation of large quantities of class A drugs such as cocaine could lead to life imprisonment or the death penalty, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Yuan, 34, was suspected of cooperating with Taiwanese drug dealer Chen Jung-shun (陳榮順) to smuggle the drug.
Shu, 29, was suspected of buying cocaine from Mexicans in the US, smuggling it into the country on his person and handing it over to Yuan. Yuan is then believed to have sold the drugs to Chen, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors believe Shu brought about 1kg of cocaine into Taiwan in November and February and delivered the merchandise to Yuan.
Shu was arrested by police at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on April 8 after arriving on a flight. He had 985g of cocaine in his luggage.
Police later arrested Yuan in his Taipei office after linking Yuan to Shu. Yuan denied knowing Shu or having anything to do with drug smuggling.
The pair have been in detention since.
Chen and his wife were also indicted in the case yesterday.
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
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
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
RSS