Ex-NTNU women's soccer coach indicted over research fraud

Taipei, Sept. 30 (CNA) Former National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) women's soccer coach Chou Tai-ying (周台英) was indicted Wednesday for allegedly obtaining NT$1.293 million (US40,573) through research projects that were either fake or had an inflated number of participants.

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office said that, as Chou had admitted to the offenses, which took place between 2021 and 2024, it would ask the court to impose an appropriate sentence and confiscate her illicit gains.

Prosecutors allege that Chou diverted NT$498,000 of the fraudulently obtained funds, a mixture of government grants and participant fees, to finance an overseas training trip to Da Nang, Vietnam, for the Taipei PlayOne women's soccer team, which she also coached.

The case came to light after Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜) claimed in November 2024 that Chou, a former Taiwan women's national team player, had pressured players over several years to participate in sports science research.

Chen said that Chou required players to undergo blood draws three times a day for 14 consecutive days during winter and summer breaks and threatened to block their graduation if they refused.

Prosecutors declined to charge Chou with coercion, saying that witness testimony and other evidence did not sufficiently corroborate allegations her players had been intimidated into participating in the blood-drawing research project.

Following an internal investigation, NTNU dismissed Chou in July 2025 and barred her from teaching for four years.

The university later revoked her doctoral degree after concluding that her research involving student participants violated academic ethics and informed consent requirements.

The Ministry of Education and the Chinese Taipei Football Association also revoked her coaching licenses.