Three charged over thefts of cable from a TSMC construction site

Chiayi, May 5 (CNA) Three men have been indicted on charges of stealing more than 4.5 kilometers of cable from a Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) construction site and selling it for nearly NT$5 million (US$158,000).

In an indictment issued by the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office on Monday, prosecutors said a 29-year-old subcontractor surnamed Chuang (莊) orchestrated the scheme with his two employees, surnamed Hsueh (薛) and Hung (洪).

The thefts took place at the construction site of TSMC's advanced packaging plant in Chiayi County, and prosecutors have recommended prison sentences of 10 years for Chuang and Hsueh and nine years and six months for Hung.

The scheme was uncovered on the night of March 2, prosecutors said.

Hsueh drove a rented truck into the site after telling security guards he was there to move tools, and he was allowed to enter because of his familiarity with the guards, while Chuang and Hung were hiding in the truck bed.

The three men used hydraulic cutters to steal about 600 meters of cable, but a patrolling guard noticed a large amount of cable loaded on the truck and called for backup.

As Chuang tried to get away, he allegedly drove the truck toward guards who were trying to block the vehicle, forcing them to jump to the side, before the truck crashed through security-gate equipment and fled, prosecutors said.

Police later tracked down the suspects, who had sold the stolen cable to a recycling facility in Pingtung County, prosecutors said.

Authorities arrested the three men after reviewing surveillance footage. Chuang and Hsueh were detained at prosecutors' request, while Hung was released.

According to prosecutors, the attempted heist in May was the last of eight cable thefts dating back to December 2025 that the suspects confessed to after being shown evidence of the crimes, including recycling receipts, truck-rental records and surveillance footage.

But there may have been more heists, prosecutors said, as records from two recycling facilities showed 29 transactions involving stolen materials since October 2025 that generated more than NT$4.97 million in proceeds.