Taichung court sentences Jiuzhou gambling group chief to 11 years and 8 months, orders confiscation of more than NT$32.9 billion

A district court in Taichung handed down a first-instance ruling in the Jiuzhou gambling group case on Oct. 2, sentencing group president Chen Zheng-gu to 11 years and 8 months in prison for organized crime and bribery, while ordering the confiscation of more than NT$32.9 billion in illegal business proceeds. The court said companies tied to the group built two in-house third-party payment systems, OnePaid and 1177PAY, to collect gambling funds for the group’s own betting websites. The case involved 45 defendants in total, including 35 individuals and 10 companies, with prison terms for other defendants ranging from five months to seven years and corporate fines ranging from NT$10 million to NT$80 million. The ruling also said Chen and former Taiwan eSports League chairman Hsu Pei-ching bribed then-Taichung Criminal Investigation Corps chief Lin Ming-tso, later promoted to police inspector, in exchange for investigative secrets. The full case can still be appealed, while proceedings involving Lin were separated because he was hospitalized and unable to appear in court.