Cabinet approves bill setting harsher penalties for fraud

Taipei, Nov. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's Cabinet on Thursday approved draft legal amendments to impose harsher penalties on scammers, and require fraud suspects to quickly reach a settlement with their victims if they want to be considered for a reduced sentence.

The Cabinet approved the draft revisions to the Fraud Crime Hazard Prevention Act, which only came into force last year. The proposed changes must now be reviewed by the Legislature in order to become law.

Under the version approved Thursday, the threshold for defining "large scale" fraud -- and thus incurring 3-10 years in prison and a fine of up to NT$30 million (US$964,797) -- would be lowered from NT$5 million to NT$1 million in fraudulent gains.

The draft bill would also add new penalty tiers, mandating 5-12 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of NT$300 million for people convicted of making over NT$10 million via fraud.

People who made at least NT$100 million via fraud, meanwhile, would face a minimum sentence of 7 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of NT$500 million, according to the draft amendments.

The bill also includes a provision aimed at helping fraud victims quickly receive compensation.

In order to be considered for a reduced sentence or no sentence, a fraudster would have to turn themselves into the authorities, reach a financial settlement with their victims, and fully pay the settlement within 6 months of being taken into custody.

Meanwhile, the draft bill also stated that if a fraud suspect was living a "lavish" or "wasteful" lifestyle (compared to an average person) prior to compensating or reaching a settlement with their victims, that behavior could be considered as a factor in their sentencing.

During the Cabinet meeting, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told ministers that the government has made combating fraud a top priority.

Every month, financial losses to fraud in Taiwan exceed NT$1 billion, though the overall number of cases has been coming down, Cho said, according to Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝).