Taiwan Today

The Banqiao District Prosecutors Office brought indictments against two baseball stars Feb. 10, along with 23 other players and gamblers, in the largest and most far-ranging game-fixing scandal in the history of Taiwan’s professional baseball. Brother Elephants outfielder Chen Chih-yuan, known as the “Golden Warrior,” is said to have demanded payment of NT$1 million (US$31,200) from a gambling ring, and thus was described by prosecutors as “avaricious.” La New Bears pitcher Chang Chih-chia allegedly took money to throw games, and was said by prosecutors to have “coveted private gains and betrayed baseball fans.” Both players face sentences of two years imprisonment. Two other star players, Tsao Chin-hui and Hsieh Chia-hsien, allegedly were treated to banquets and sexual services by the gambling ring involved, but were not indicted due to lack of evidence. Former Elephants shortstop Tsai Feng-an could go to prison for two years for helping Chuang Hung-liang recruit players for the scam. Prosecutors asked that an 18-month sentence be handed down to former Elephants manager Shin Nakagomi from Japan on charges of instructing players to throw games. Of the three major gambling rings involved, the Tsai Cheng-yi (known as “Windshield wiper”) and Yu Tse-bin gangs admitted guilt, so prosecutors asked for lighter sentences. Longer jail terms have been requested for members of the Wu Chien-pao ring, which threatened players with violence. A sentence of nine years plus a fine of NT$50 million was requested for Wu, while a six-year sentence and fine of NT$5 million was demanded for gang member Li Shao-jun. A four-year sentence and NT$1 million-fine were asked for subordinate Zeng Han-zhou. Prosecutors called for three years of forced labor for all three. The Brother Elephants immediately sacked Chen. General Manager Hung Ruei-ho changed his earlier cautious tune of Feb. 9 and said the team would bring charges against players involved in the scandal. With the large number of Elephants players implicated, compensation could reach as high as nearly NT$100 million. “Chen Chih-yuan is the very image of the Elephants. I never thought he would be involved. He shows no respect for the fans, and I’m broken hearted myself,” Hung said. According to Chinese Professional Baseball League regulations encoded in Article 21 regarding player contracts, players involved in gambling on games are required to pay their team triple the amount of their signing bonus. Chen alone, who received a signing bonus of NT$5 million, could have to fork out NT$15 million for game-fixing. If compensation is also demanded for his salary, which this year is NT$200,000 per month, the figure could go even higher. Sources familiar with the matter said the total amount of signing bonuses for Elephants players implicated in the scandal—whether they were indicted, received suspended indictments for admitting guilt or not indicted after handing over illegally gained monies to prosecutors—adds up to close to NT$30 million (preliminarily estimated at NT$28.3 million). Doubling that amount would mean NT$60 million. It is reported that the team may ask for damages of twice their annual salaries in the case of players who did not get a signing bonus, which would come out to at least NT$20 million. If further compensation is demanded for defamation of the team and ticket revenue loss, the total figure could approach that for the La New Bears. The Bears already filed civil cases in early February against Hsu Wen-hsiung, Huang Chun-chung and seven other players implicated in game fixing, asking for damages of NT$83 million for breach of contract. Hsu and Huang would have to pay over NT$20 million each, while costs to other players would range from NT$3 million to NT$8 million. “These damages are the team’s way of expressing its commitment to putting an end to game fixing,” said Jiang Da-ning, legal representative for the Bears. The team has also applied to the court to have players’ assets frozen. (THN)