2025/09/01 17:00
Your newspaper recently reported that a scammer in Yunlin boasted on Douyin about defrauding 26 people and illegally obtaining over NT$3 million. However, the court only seized over NT$7,000. He mocked the verdict as a “resume” and even said, “You can work for a scam company. If you want to make money, look for him.”
Besides causing public outcry, the video’s release coincided with the Legislative Yuan’s review of the “Anti-Fraud 2.0 Implementation Effectiveness” project report. President Zhuo admitted to being dissatisfied with the results, particularly when confronted with the scammer’s boast that “the verdict is my resume,” which garnered widespread attention. Interior Minister Liu stated that the video had been removed from the app on the 9th and reappeared on the 13th, adding that the driver had been transferred 28 times. Justice Minister Zheng pledged to immediately push for legislative amendments. The Taipei Prison issued a statement late on the 15th, revoking Liao’s parole and suspending his parole. The Executive Yuan’s swift response was a comprehensive mobilization, demonstrating its resolve to combat fraud.
However, this case isn’t just a single issue. From a long-term perspective, it involves the exaggerated power of social media platforms like TikTok, the repeated release of scammers, and the serious recidivism problem masked by parole and deferred prosecution.
The government repeatedly highlighted the five key aspects of its past anti-fraud strategy, including the difficulty of preventing fraud in social media and the complete lack of control over its punishment measures. This has led to the recurrence of fraudsters, resulting in them acting with impunity and becoming a negative example of legal ethics in sociology. In particular, the fact that they were able to flaunt their crimes freely despite being referred 28 times is likely a source of frustration for victims and law enforcement. Grassroots police officers are encouraging reports of fraudsters through the “100 Kills” program, which is collaborating with the public to raise funds. The program offers a 50,000 yuan reward for reporting fraudsters, which are then sent to the criminal justice system. However, they were referred 28 times, with only 7,200 yuan recovered. This has effectively turned the “100 Kills” program into a “Nothing Kills” program.
The news media is filled with heroic footage of police chasing down cyclists, featuring the concerted efforts of drivers, the public, convenience stores, and airline employees. Yet, unexpectedly, the judicial system ultimately results in suspended sentences and deferred prosecutions. The severity of this problem is likely more than just the re-arrest of the cyclist and the revocation of his parole. This criminal justice system demonstrates that the Executive Yuan’s collaborative efforts alone are insufficient in combating fraud. The “let it go, let it go” approach not only severely undermines law enforcement morale but also severely undermines the crime prevention strategy of deterrence through punishment.
Education on democracy, human rights, and the rule of law must place particular emphasis on the experiential learning cycle model. The instructional video featuring the scammer went viral online. Even after being removed, the damage it inflicted on the judiciary remains clear. No amount of legal education, whether focused on morality, retribution, proportionality, the threat of punishment, or even human rights and social values, has been effective. This is because the Supreme Court’s Grand Chamber ruled that Article 47 of the Fraud Crime Prevention Act, which provides for sentence reductions, “confessed the entire crime and returned actual personal gains,” could be used to reduce sentences. Previously, someone who accidentally defrauded NT$3 million and was caught could receive suspended sentences simply by returning the “declared” NT$7,200. The Audit Department’s report also noted that only 1% of individuals sentenced to more than three years for aggravated fraud under the Criminal Law receive sentences of three years or more. Given the rational cost of low risk, low cost, low sentence, and high payoff, the public sees a suspended sentence for defrauding NT$3 million and returning NT$7,200, creating a serious criminal justice problem that “corrupts children and young people alike.”
To address the drivers’ repeated failures, not only should legislative amendments be expedited, but a cross-Cutting-Channel for consultation and communication between the Executive Yuan and the Judicial Yuan should also be established based on the latest real-world cases.
(The author is an assistant professor of the Department of Criminal Justice at Ming Chuan University)