Kaohsiung man sentenced to 78 months for counterfeiting money

Kaohsiung, May 30 (CNA) The Kaohsiung District Court sentenced a man to six years and six months in jail last week for counterfeiting banknotes and purchasing goods with one of the fake bills.

The court handed down the ruling given that the man, surnamed Ko (柯), acted out of personal interest, and, though he admitted to committing the crime, had previously been convicted of the same offense.

Ko committed the crime within five years of his release, qualifying for an increased sentence under the recidivism provisions of the Criminal Code, the ruling said.

Ko was previously convicted of usury and offenses against the national currency in 2013, receiving a combined sentence of seven years and two months. He was released early in May 2019 for good behavior.

According to the court, Ko used a color copier to copy NT$500 bills and then processed the printed banknotes to produce 69 NT$500 (US$16.74) counterfeit bills and 1,786 more half-finished at his rented residence between April and May 2024.

He bought a NT$90 doughnut with one of the fake notes at a night market and received NT$410 in change on April 11, 2024. The vendor later realized the texture of the bill was different and reported it to the police, the court found.

Police raided Ko's residence, seized the fake notes and arrested him in May 2024, the ruling said.

The verdict can be appealed.