TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – An employee of Starlux Airlines was fined and left his job after using an airport working pass to evade immigration when leaving Taiwan for a holiday, reports said Saturday (April 13).
After the staffer checked in his luggage at Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 1 and obtained a boarding pass for a flight out of Taiwan, he used his airport pass to meet with friends at Terminal 2 before exiting to board his flight without passing through immigration, per CNA.
As a result, there was no record of him having left the country. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) confirmed the story, saying it had fined the airline employee the minimum sum of NT$100,000 (US$3,095) because it was his first infraction. The maximum fine under the Immigration Act was NT$500,000.
Starlux said he was a new employee who had bought a ticket to spend a holiday overseas. The airline immediately canceled his airport pass after it had investigated the matter, and called a disciplinary hearing after he had returned to Taiwan. He acknowledged he had broken the rules and resigned the same day, Starlux said.