Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving.
Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代).
Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents.
Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect, surnamed Chen (陳), and two other agents working for him.
Wang was identified as one of the group’s clients, after police reviewed their phone and transaction records.
Police yesterday apprehended 12 people involved in the crime, with nine of them being about to begin compulsory service.
Wang’s bail was set at NT$150,000 (US$4,578), while the remaining 11 were released on bail ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$150,000.
A police investigation showed that Chen’s group taught clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams and fooled doctors into signing a certificate that would free them from undertaking mandatory service.
Each client was charged at least NT$1 million for the service, the investigation showed.
Police said that the investigation would continue, as they suspect that the group might collude with doctors in obtaining certificates for their clients.
About 80 people are being investigated for potentially evading compulsory military service, the Department of Conscription Administration said yesterday.
The agency, part of the Ministry of the Interior, said it has identified about 80 cases from 2022 to last year in which conscripts might have used false medical records or other illegal means to dodge military service.
Some of them said they had chronic diseases, even though they possessed no such medical records, the agency said, adding that it had also received tips from the public.
All these cases have been turned over to prosecutors for further investigation, it said.
The physical condition of military service-aged men is reviewed by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and medical associations, and the results determine whether they should be exempt from service and the types of military capacities they can be assigned to serve in.
The Punishment Act for Violation of the Military Service System (妨害兵役治罪條例) stipulates that those not attending the recruitment checkup without any reason, purposely harming their body or using other methods to change their physical conditions, or deliberately submitting a false document to authorities to avoid military service would face up to five years in prison.
Wang must undertake military service next month, as men who turn 33 can no longer request to postpone service, Taipei Department of Military Compulsory Service Deputy Director Lin Chun-lai (林春來) said.
Wang would not be allowed to leave the country, Lin said, adding that the department has not received his request for a second medical exam.
Regulations governing the management of conscripts stipulate those who were born before Dec. 31, 1993, and have not undergone any military service must serve one year of substitute military service.
Wang reportedly sought to dodge the mandatory service for fear that it might disrupt his career.
Prior to Wang, actors Hsiu Chieh-kai (修杰楷), Ethan Juan (阮經天) and Bobby Dou (竇智孔) did not enter the military until they were in the 30s, while singer Yoga Lin (林宥嘉) served when he was 27. Actor Ming Dao (明道) entered the military when he was 32, after registering at five universities in 11 years.
Dao’s case also prompted the government to change the law by banning students who are at least 28 years old from postponing mandatory military service.
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