Lack of translator stalls arraignment of Taiwanese fraud suspects

MANILA, Philippines - The arraignment of 15 Taiwanese who are allegedly part of a Southeast Asian syndicate involved in credit card and online fraud has been reset because there was no translator who can read them the criminal charges in Chinese.

A source told The STAR that the Parañaque Regional Trial Court Branch 258 has rescheduled the arraignment on July 30. The source said of the 15 accused, only two can “understand a little English. The rest (neither) speak nor understand” the language.

The Taiwanese were arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Technical Investigation Division and Intelligence Services who raided their den last year. They were charged with violating the Access Devices Regulation Act of 1998.

According to the NBI, the accused hacked online websites to acquire credit card information of the clients. Once they have the information, they make online purchases or transfer money from the credit card account to Paypal, then to an account in the Philippines and withdraw the money using an automated teller machine.

The syndicate members also reportedly pose as legitimate businessmen in the Philippines and sell non-existent products to victims who use credit cards.

“If there is a customer abroad, he will pay 50 percent, but there will be no product. If there is shipment, it only contains rocks or sand or fake items. The names on the shipment are not the names of the real owners of the shipment,” NBI’s Palmer Mallari said in a previous interview.