More than two dozen suspects linked to an extortion ring that left three people dead were indicted Tuesday, with prosecutors seeking heavy sentences for the suspects, including life imprisonment.

In a statement, the Shilin District Prosecutors Office said the 29 suspects, including the leaders of the extortion ring identified as Fu Yu-lin (???) and Chen Hua-wei (???), were indicted for offenses against personal liberty that resulted in death.

Due to the seriousness of their crimes, prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for the two ring leaders and jail terms of 20 to 30 years for the 27 other suspects, the Shilin office said.

Fu, a 30-year-old woman from Qidu District in Keelung City, was arrested on Nov. 10, while the male suspect Chen, 35, was apprehended alongside others on Nov. 5 after a series of raids carried out by police in recent weeks.

The suspects got involved in criminal activities that jeopardized the lives of others, and their complete disregard for the law tarnished Taiwan’s international image, prosecutors said.

According to the Shilin office, the criminal ring defrauded 307 victims of nearly NT$400 million (US$13 million) from September when their operation began to when they were arrested.

Among the 307 victims, 61 were held against their will, and 58 were eventually freed while the three others ended up dead, prosecutors said.

Based on the findings of the police investigation, the suspects lured victims to locations in Zhongli District in Taoyuan and Tamsui District in New Taipei on the pretense of holding interviews for high-paying jobs.

Many of the “applicants” were then held against their will for periods ranging from less than a week to more than a month by the suspects, who tortured the kidnapped individuals in order to get their bank passbooks, account passwords, and IDs.

The suspects beat, pepper-sprayed, and electrocuted uncooperative captives, according to police, who said they found tasers and retractable batons at the two alleged torture sites.

The suspects, they said, likely used the stolen bank accounts to commit fraud and launder money.

During their investigation, law enforcement authorities also uncovered two bodies hidden in Taoyuan’s Guishan District and one in Nantou County that had been taken there after the person fell to his death from the 11th floor of an apartment building occupied by the suspects in Zhongli, according to police.

The case will be tried by the Shilin District Court.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel