22 unaccounted for Vietnamese migrant workers, tourists arrested in poultry slaughterhouse in Taipei’s Wanhua District
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/02/27
By: Keoni Everington, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
(NIA image)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Last night (Feb. 26), 22 unaccounted for Vietnamese migrant workers and tourists were arrested at a poultry slaughterhouse in Taipei, according to the National Immigration Agency (NIA).
The NIA recently received a tipoff that there was a large number of foreign nationals suspected of working illegally in a slaughterhouse in Taipei’s Wanhua District. It was suspected that they were a large group of Vietnamese migrant workers, some whom had ostensibly come to Taiwan for “sightseeing” via the “Kuan Hung Pilot Project” (觀宏專案) e-visa program.
In the facility, the workers were allegedly involved in slaughtering, cleaning, and handling chickens and ducks. Late last night, after several days of investigation, over 100 officers from various units arrested 18 unaccounted for migrant workers and four tourists who had overstayed their visas.
The slaughterhouse had been closed for two days during the Lantern Festival, and faced with the coming 228 Peace Memorial Day holiday, there was a large market demand for poultry. As a result, the slaughterhouse took a risk and hired illegal migrant workers, both male and female, and employed them during the night shift from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. to try to avoid detection. [FULL STORY]
