As Taiwanese prosecutors searched the local base of the "Prince Group," known as the force behind Cambodia's notorious crime syndicate, a scene showing one of the suspects beaming broadly was released, stoking public outrage.
According to Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA) and Liberty Times on the 7th, Liu Chun-yu (劉春玉), the secretary to Li Tian, chief financial officer (CFO) and close aide to Prince Group Chairman Chen Zhi (陳志, 39), was released after posting bail of 150,000 New Taiwan dollars (about 7 million won).
Prosecutors said Liu Chun-yu, a graduate of Auckland University of Technology, had worked at the Prince Group's Taiwan base for five years and is suspected of participating in large-scale cross-border money laundering by concealing illegal funds tied to Cambodian scams in Taiwan.
What caused the backlash was her demeanor when leaving the prosecutor's office. Local outlet CTI reported, "Liu Chun-yu, dressed in a loose shirt, was caught smiling and stepping lightly as she left the prosecutor's office."
After the footage was released, condemnation surged online. Internet users reacted, saying, "So many victims have emerged, how can she smile like that?" and "She's implicated in an illegal funds case worth about 200 billion won, yet the bail is 7 million won."
The Prince Group is an international criminal network based in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, that has carried out fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering, and it was placed on sanctions lists by both the United States and the United Kingdom last month.
On the 5th, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office in Taiwan said it formed a joint task force with the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, which investigates national security crimes, and the National Police Agency Criminal Investigation Bureau, among others, searched 47 sites tied to Chairman Chen's Taiwan base, and froze assets worth 4.5 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 210.5 billion won).
A Taiwanese prosecutor said the Prince Group set up shell companies in Taiwan to transfer and conceal money earned through illegal activities in Cambodia. Accordingly, prosecutors seized 11 luxury houses owned by the Prince Group and other real estate, 26 high-end passenger cars, and 60 bank accounts with large balances.