Yunlin: Yunlin prosecutors on Wednesday indicted four individuals, including a Thai national, on charges of recruiting foreign nationals on visitor visas or who had overstayed their visas to work on farms and charging excessive brokerage fees.

According to Focus Taiwan, the group, led by a 50-year-old man surnamed Tsai, included two other Taiwanese-a woman surnamed Lin and a man surnamed Chang-as well as a Thai woman who had overstayed her visa. Prosecutors revealed that Tsai and Lin arranged for 19 Thai nationals who had overstayed their visas to work on farms and in wholesale markets in Yunlin and Changhua counties. These workers were paid an hourly wage of NT$60-NT$150 (US$1.9-US$4.6), which is below Taiwan's NT$196 minimum hourly wage, and this has been ongoing since December 2023.

Prosecutors further disclosed that Tsai, collaborating with the indicted Thai suspect, fraudulently brought two Thai nationals from Thailand to Taiwan on visitor visas under false promises of employment. Chang also played a role by recruiting two Vietnamese nationals who had overstayed their visas to work with Tsai as part of the illegal foreign worker brokerage scheme.

While prosecutors did not specify the total number of foreign nationals exploited, they confirmed that Tsai had amassed more than NT$1 million in illegal profits. The victims were charged exorbitant brokerage fees ranging from NT$6,000 to NT$65,000 and were required to pay NT$2,000 monthly for accommodation and utilities.