Law enforcement officers on Thursday searched five locations in Taipei and New Taipei City, questioned nine people and two executives as part of a probe into alleged talent poaching by a Chinese company.
New Taipei City prosecutors collected evidence at the Taipei office of RogersAI Technology Co (羅傑斯人工智能) and other sites of the firm, which is allegedly covertly owned by China-based cryptocurrency mining company Bitmain Technologies (比特大陸科技).
RogersAI chairman Lin Chen-ting (林承廷) and chief executive officer Luo Shih-chieh (羅士傑) were released on bail.
Photo: Bloomberg
Lin and Luo allegedly sought to recruit Taiwanese engineers with expertise in artificial intelligence, facial recognition technologies, biometric authentication and other fields, prosecutor Hsu Hung-wei (許宏緯) said, adding that the firm spent about NT$150 million (US$5.05 million) on the efforts over the past two years.
RogersAI allegedly targeted talent at local technology firms, such as the research-and-development division of Delta Electronics and the Hon Hai Research Institute, enticing about 50 staff to change employers, Hsu said.
The probe focuses on fund transactions at RogersAI and its ownership structure, Hsu said, adding that the company is allegedly a subsidiary of China-based Fujian KuKe3D Technology Co (福建庫克智能科技), which is owned by Bitmain.
Hsu said RogersAI seems to have been set up solely for talent poaching purposes.
Lin and Luo allegedly hold executive positions at Fujian KuKe3D, he added.
“Illegal talent poaching by Chinese firms poses a serious threat and undermines the development of the local high-tech sector,” Hsu said.
Lin and Luo faced pending charges of contravening the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), which requires Chinese firms to seek approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs before investing in Taiwan.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS