Multiple Kaohsiung police officers (one retired) have been implicated in a corruption scandal revolving around a Texas hold ’em restaurant in Renwu District (仁武區).

A former police officer surnamed Chen (陳), along with two businessmen, was detained on charges of accepting bribes earlier this month. He has also been accused of covering up illegal gambling.

Police say that Chen, while working for an investigation unit in Renwu, knew about the gambling den. He allegedly failed to report this and continued to cover it up for some time.

The gambling den is accused of allowing people to trade chips won playing Texas hold ’em in for cash, which is illegal in Taiwan. This tactic is commonly referred to as “washing points” (洗分) in Mandarin.

Since then, Ciaotou District (橋頭區) investigators have arrested more suspects accused of accepting bribes or helping to cover up the case, including one surnamed Cheng (鄭). 

Cheng is similarly accused of failing to report and covering up the gambling den’s alleged illicit activities during his tenure in Renwu.

It is likely that more details will be released in the coming days as this is a rapidly developing story. Likewise as Taiwan tries to reduce and expose corruption in the police force we are likely to see similar stories from other locations.