Taiwan, Malaysia police bust phone fraud ring

TAIPEI - Taiwanese and Malaysian police cracked an international phone scam ring during the Lunar New Year holidays, arresting 36 people from three different countries who were based in Malaysia, local police reported Wednesday.

The ring was run by a Taiwanese man surnamed Huang, who was arrested at Taiwan's main airport in Taoyuan County two weeks after the raid was carried out on Jan. 6, police said.

The other members of the fraud group were nine Taiwanese, 24 Chinese, and 2 Malaysians, according to Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).

Police estimate that the ring, formed by Huang in 2010, had since swindled more than NT$400 million (S$16.78 million), mostly from Chinese nationals.

The swindlers operated by posing themselves on the phone as bank workers, police or prosecutors and convincing people to transfer funds to accounts operated by the fraud ring, police said.

The members of the group were recruited by Huang, through newspaper and Internet commercials, supposedly to work in Malaysia as telephone salespeople, police said.

On Jan. 6, Taiwan and Malaysia police went to Penang City in Malaysia to investigate the case and found evidence such as telecommunication equipment and electronic devices in raids on two locations in the city, according to a police news release.

Nine Taiwanese suspects were arrested during the raids and deported to Taiwan on Jan. 19, police said.

Huang, the main suspect, was picked up Jan. 21 as he got off a flight from China's Xiamen at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for the Lunar New Year, police said.

Seven of the 10 Taiwanese suspects have been remanded in custody by the Yilan District Court, while the other three have been released on bail, police said.