Court Observation Recruitment | State Compensation Case Regarding the "Taiwanese Version of Cambodia Scams"

In recent years, news reports regarding Taiwanese citizens being scammed while seeking overseas employment have been frequent. Many people have been lured to places such as Cambodia, Myanmar, and Dubai to engage in telecom fraud, with their personal freedom and safety controlled by scam syndicates.

In 2022 (ROC year 111), the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office established a special task force to investigate a transnational job-fraud case, and on August 9 of the same year, issued a press release titled: "Citizens Lured to Dubai for High-Paying Jobs, Personal Freedom Tragically Controlled: Investigation Authorities Smash Dubai Telecom Fraud and Human Trafficking Case; 2 Main Taiwanese Suspects Detained and Denied Visitation upon Prosecutor's Request." However, the video material cited in the press release was neither verified for authenticity by the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office nor subjected to complete de-identification, leading to a victim, whose personal freedom was still restricted in a scam compound in Cambodia, being subjected to aggravated abuse and confinement by their employer.

After returning to Taiwan at the end of September of the same year, the victim was diagnosed by a physician with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and still requires regular follow-up consultations and medication for control. The Control Yuan subsequently pointed out in Investigation Report No. 112-Nei-Tiao-42 that the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office was at fault for failing to verify the authenticity of the video, failing to implement de-identification, failing to provide the victim with relevant counseling assistance and compensation measures, and failing to hold the negligent personnel accountable.

The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office responded by claiming that the severe abuse suffered by the victim could not be proven to have been caused by the video, and that even if it released the video without fulfilling its duty of verification, the harm suffered by the victim had nothing to do with it. In response, JRF assisted the victim in filing a state compensation lawsuit against the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office to hold the agency accountable for its negligence and to protect the legal rights of the victim.

Regrettably, the plaintiff's claims were previously dismissed by the Summary Division of the Kaohsiung District Court in Judgment No. 113-Hsiung-Kuo-Jian-9. On the day of the verdict, JRF, along with the Covenants Watch, the Awakening Foundation, and the Taiwan Association for Human Rights, issued a joint statement and held a press conference at the Kaohsiung District Court to express their strong dissatisfaction with the judgment.

Now, following the appeal, this case will hold a preparatory hearing at the Kaohsiung District Court on the afternoon of April 29. We invite you to join us on-site to continue supporting this individual case and to care about the issue of investigative authorities violating the principle of non-publicity of investigations.

＊After the court observation concludes, the defense attorney for this case will also share the controversies of the case outside the courtroom. Everyone is welcome to participate.

Court Observation

References

Control Yuan Investigation Report No. 112-Nei-Tiao-0042

Contact Person

Legal Specialist Chang Chia-chi
Phone: (04)2329-2372 #14
Email: jc@jrf.org.tw