More than 100 people have been apprehended in sweeps of entertainment venues and businesses, as police are clamping down on organized crime, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Friday.
Increased surveillance and police patrols are part of efforts to crack down on criminal activities and maintain public safety by curbing communication between gangs, National Police Agency Director-General Huang Ming-chao (黃明昭) said at the bureau in Taipei.
The month-long police sweep commenced last week and is focussing on members of the Ming Ren Chapter of the Bamboo Union, which is active in Taipei and New Taipei City, Huang said.
Photo: Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
The police questioned 109 people, including alleged Ming Ren Chapter Wanhua branch leader Lin Yi-hua (林易樺), Huang said.
Lin, 24, was arrested after allegations arose of intimidation stemming from debt collection, as well as gambling operations and drug trafficking, police said.
A suspect surnamed Chiu (邱) testified that last year he was unable to pay back a debt of NT$250,000 and was forcibly taken to a site in New Taipei City where he was beaten with metal bars and baseball bats, leaving him with serious injuries, police said.
The bureau displayed weapons and cash confiscated during the sweep, including 37 illegal firearms, such as rifles and modified handguns, as well as machetes, broad knives, switch blades, truncheons and metal rods.
A total of 283 people have been arrested on allegations of engaging in 76 cases of kidnapping associated with telecom fraud operations, police said.
On Monday last week, the Ming Ren chapter held an extravagant “spring wine” banquet at the Taipei Marriott Hotel, attracting public attention by hiring 170 female hostesses to greet attendees.
Following public pressure, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) asked the National Police Agency to crack down on the Bamboo Union and other major organized crime groups.
An undersea cable to Penghu County has been severed, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said today, with a Chinese-funded ship suspected of being responsible. It comes just a month after a Chinese ship was suspected of severing an undersea cable north of Keelung Harbor. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03am today from Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7km off the coast of Tainan, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving a report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the Togolese-flagged Hong Tai (宏泰)
A cat named Mikan (蜜柑) has brought in revenue of more than NT$10 million (US$305,390) for the Kaohsiung MRT last year. Mikan, born on April 4, 2020, was a stray cat before being adopted by personnel of Kaohsiung MRT’s Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station. Mikan was named after a Japanese term for mandarin orange due to his color and because he looks like an orange when curled up. He was named “station master” of Ciaotou Sugar Refinery Station in September 2020, and has since become famous. With Kaohsiung MRT’s branding, along with the release of a set of cultural and creative products, station master Mikan
RISING TOURISM: A survey showed that tourist visits increased by 35 percent last year, while newly created attractions contributed almost half of the growth Changhua County’s Lukang Old Street (鹿港老街) and its surrounding historical area clinched first place among Taiwan’s most successful tourist attractions last year, while no location in eastern Taiwan achieved a spot in the top 20 list, the Tourism Administration said. The listing was created by the Tourism Administration’s Forward-looking Tourism Policy Research office. Last year, the Lukang Old Street and its surrounding area had 17.3 million visitors, more than the 16 million visitors for the Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) in Chiayi City and 14.5 million visitors at Tainan’s Anping (安平) historical area, it said. The Taipei 101 skyscraper and its environs —
Taiwan on Friday said a New Zealand hamburger restaurant has apologized for a racist remark to a Taiwanese customer after reports that it had first apologized to China sparked outrage in Taiwan. An image posted on Threads by a Taiwanese who ate at Fergburger in Queenstown showed that their receipt dated Sunday last week included the words “Ching Chang,” a racial slur. The Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch in a statement on Thursday said it had received and accepted an apology from the restaurant over the incident. The comment triggered an online furor among Taiwanese who saw it as an insult to the
RSS