NO CURVES:
Jakarta has not bowed to pressure from Beijing to hand over the 102 detainees, while Taipei reacted quickly after learning of the arrests.
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By Su Yung-yao and Jonathan Chin / Reporter, with editor and nursing assistant
The last 11 of 102 Taiwanese arrested in Indonesia on fraud charges were returned to Taiwan late Thursday, completing the repatriation of Taiwanese involved in the case, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said, amid reports Beijing has pressured Jakarta to extradite the suspects to China.
Criminal Investigation Bureau Director-General Chou Yu-wei (周幼偉) made the comment at a press conference at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport after police arrested the repatriated suspects.
The other 91 suspects who were not wanted for crimes in Taiwan were returned in recent days after being deported for violating visa conditions, he said.
Photo: Tony Yao, Taipei Times
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Immigration informed the Taipei Economic and Trade Office in Indonesia last week that 103 Taiwanese had been arrested in Bali, one of whom was found to be from Hong Kong, it said.
The suspects, 10 men and one woman, are mostly from Taichung and were wanted in Taiwan on charges of fraud, money laundering, illegal confinement and other charges, Chou said.
They boarded China Airlines flight CI762 under guard and arrived at Taoyuan Airport at 9:15 p.m., where they were arrested and handed over to the Taichung District Prosecutors Office.
The Taiwanese-Indonesian operation demonstrated the government’s determination to bring suspects to justice and fight crime with its international partners, Chou said.
However, timely intervention by Taipei authorities narrowly prevented the Taiwanese’s extradition to China, a source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Fearing interference from Beijing, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) summoned government officials to handle the incident immediately after learning of the arrests, the source said.
Lin and Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) have been coordinating efforts with Taiwan’s diplomatic corps and police in Indonesia amid immense political pressure from Beijing for Jakarta to hand over the detainees, the source said.
The Indonesian government has not bowed to Chinese pressure and has ordered the suspects to be deported to Taiwan, with those not wanted for crimes to be deported first, they said.
Jakarta does not want to be drawn into a conflict between Taiwan and China and is wary of pursuing internet fraud targeting people living outside its jurisdiction, they said.
Taiwanese police have obtained equipment from their Indonesian counterparts that would be used to pursue deportees in Taiwan, including laptops and 400 phones, they said.
The transportation of electronic devices under difficult air security conditions and the availability of airline tickets led to delays in the deportation process, the source said.
Taiwanese people who break the law in a foreign country could be prosecuted again in Taiwan for the same offense, a spokesman for the bureau said.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chun-fu
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