A man suspected of being a key figure in an extortion ring in Taoyuan City’s Zhongli District and New Taipei’s Tamsui District has been referred to prosecutors on Saturday on charges including manslaughter and involvement in organized crime.
At 6 p.m. Saturday, 35-year-old Chen Hua-wei (陳樺韋), nicknamed “Milk Tea” or “Cha Dong (Chairman Tea),” was transferred to Shilin prosecutors on six charges, which also include fraud, money laundering, inflicting bodily harm and multiple instances of infringement of personal liberty.
Police said Chen was arrested at around 11 p.m. Friday with NT$520,000 (US$16,149) in cash found at his home, believed to be illegal income from extortion activities, after eight other members of the Zhongli extortion ring were arrested on Nov. 3.
On Nov. 2, police apprehended eight initial suspects including 34-year-old Lu Cheng-yi (呂政儀) and 21-year-old Chang Chia-hao (張家豪), who were identified as branch leaders of the ring arrested in Zhongli and Tamsui.
According to police in New Taipei, suspected members of the extortion ring lured their victims to a location in Zhongli on the pretext of interviewing for a high-paying job.
Police said the suspected ring members then confiscated the captives’ identity documents, passbooks, and personal seals and forced them to surrender their bank account passwords, adding that the accounts were likely then used to launder money or for other fraudulent activities.
During his interrogation, Chen admitted to working with Lu and Chang who ran the ring’s Zhongli and Tamsui branches.
However, he avoided answering key questions, such as whether he was the mastermind behind the operation and did not provide information on the identity of a possible extortion ring leader.
Chen said he only gave Lu and Chang money to cover room and board expenses, and was unaware of the duo’s criminal activities.
When questioned about his packed clothing and confiscated cash, Chang claimed the money was winnings from online gambling and the clothing was dirty laundry.
The extortion ring has been connected to the deaths of three people, with 58 victims rescued this week, according to authorities.
The remains of two of the three were found in mountainous areas of Guishan, police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing in the hope of identifying more suspects and victims connected to the extortion ring.
Police have identified the two deceased as a 45-year old woman surnamed Huang (黃) and a 57-year man surnamed Lin (林).
Authorities are still searching for the body of a 38-year-old man surnamed Huang (黃), who is believed to have died after falling from the 11th floor of a building.
The two bodies have been moved to a government-run funeral parlor in Taoyuan for an autopsy in a bid to determine cause of death, police added.
According to one of the freed captives, the suspects pepper sprayed and electrocuted anyone who was uncooperative or talked to others.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel