TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Eleven wanted criminals out of 102 Taiwanese arrested in Bali for allegedly committing cybercrimes were repatriated back to Taiwan on Thursday (July 4).
On June 26, Indonesian authorities raided a villa in Bali and arrested 103 foreign nationals, including 91 men and 12 women, suspected of engaging in cybercrimes to defraud people. After conducting an investigation, 102 were found to be Taiwanese and one was a Hong Kong citizen, according to the Criminal Investigation Bureau.
The CIB's International Criminal Affairs Division then worked with the Indonesian authorities and discovered that 11 individuals, 10 males, and one female, were wanted fugitives in Taiwan. They were repatriated and arrived at Taoyuan Airport on Thursday night.
The CIB said on June 26 Taiwan's representative office in Indonesia received a notification of the arrest of numerous Taiwanese citizens from Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration. Indonesian authorities said they had been apprehended for allegedly engaging in activities that did not comply with their entry permits and were suspected of defrauding Malaysian Chinese.
Taiwanese authorities were sent to Indonesia to bring the fugitives back and exchange information, but not to collect evidence or interrogate the suspects within Indonesia.
The CIB is strengthening its efforts to apprehend Taiwanese fugitives engaged in criminal activities abroad. The bureau also has intelligence-sharing mechanisms with law enforcement agencies worldwide.
Taiwanese citizens are urged to evaluate overseas job opportunities and not take unnecessary risks. If they engage in illegal behavior, they may be prosecuted by both the local country and Taiwan.
