Taipei police yesterday said they are investigating a couple over allegations of scalping pop star Jay Chou’s (周杰倫) concert tickets, as part of what they claim to be the nation’s largest scalping group.
Tickets to the pop star’s concerts in December sold out within five minutes on Wednesday for all four shows.
An investigation team was formed under the instruction of Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) and Taipei Police Department Commissioner Li Hsi-ho (李西河) after receiving reports about scalpers selling tickets to the concerts, the department’s Criminal Investigation Division said in a news release.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
A man surnamed Liu (劉) and his wife allegedly used a large number of fake accounts and computer programs to buy tickets en masse and sell them on online social platforms, while promoting their business with messaging software and guaranteeing they had the tickets, police said.
It is estimated that nearly 100 people have already paid the suspects for tickets to Chou’s concerts, they said.
The couple was transferred to the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on suspicion of contravening the Development of the Cultural and Creative Industries Act (文化創意產業發展法), forging instruments and fraud, they added.
Chou is holding concerts for his Carnival World Tour at the Taipei Dome from Dec. 5 to 8, the first time he is to perform in Taiwan in years.
A total of 890,583 users visited the site at once to purchase the 150,000 available tickets on Wednesday afternoon, JVR Music said.
The box office value of the tickets reached more than NT$657 million (US$20.5 million).
The Criminal Investigation Division warned that people who sell concert tickets at inflated prices might face fraud and forgery charges.
Vigilant enforcement action is being taken, it added.
The police urged the public not to fall victim to fraud, as criminals might sell tickets with fake serial numbers.
It would be best for consumers to buy tickets from official Web sites or sales platforms, it added.
Additional reporting by Chen Hui-ling and Kayleigh Madjar
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
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
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
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS