Taiwan wire fraud suspects to face trial on mainland

A 10-member Taiwan delegation led by Chen Wen-chi (center) visits on Thursday a house of detention in Beijing where 45 suspects from the island are held.[Photo/Xinhua]

The 77 suspected members of telecom fraud syndicates deported from Kenya this month will be tried on the mainland, said Chen Shiqu, deputy inspector of the Ministry of Public Security's Criminal Investigation Bureau.

"The suspects specifically targeted people on the Chinese mainland, and their victims are from the mainland. Not to mention that many of the suspects are themselves from the mainland," Chen said. "They will be investigated and prosecuted in accordance with mainland law."

All 45 Taiwan telecom fraud suspects who were repatriated to China from Africa on April 13 have confessed, Xinhua News Agency reported on Thursday. The other suspects come from the mainland.

Chen added that each year wire fraud criminals from Taiwan obtain more than 10 billion yuan ($1.55 billion) from the Chinese mainland, despite repeated crackdowns launched by both sides of the Straits.

"Mainland police will spare no efforts in dealing with telecom fraud syndicates, and we expect authorities in Taiwan will do the same," he said.

On Thursday, the day after it arrived in Beijing, a 10-member Taiwan delegation visited the house of detention, where 45 suspects from the island are currently held, and it saw the suspects through a monitor.

Chen Wen-chi, leader of the delegation and a cross-Straits legal affairs official in Taiwan, said in an interview with Xinhua that "all of the Taiwan suspects are in good condition. People don't need to be worried."

The delegation also visited the detention house's medical facilities and was informed that the suspects' legal rights have been protected－many have already met with their lawyers.

She said the delegation will convey the information provided by mainland police to the judicial department in Taiwan, and the island will cooperate with the mainland on cracking down on cross-Straits telecom fraud.

After releasing 20 fraud suspects who were deported from Malaysia on Saturday, citing a lack of evidence, Taiwan police arrested 18 of them on Thursday and restricted the remaining two from leaving the island, as clues have been detected.

"This is actually a good opportunity for the two sides to cooperate on cracking down on wire fraud," said Ning Yongjie, deputy director of the Shanghai Institute of Taiwan Studies. "It is time to mount a campaign against the crime and protect the interests of people from both sides."