Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-07
By:  Lilian Wu, Central News Agency

Taipei, Aug. 8 (CNA) Nearly 1,900 foreign nationals violated the law in Taiwan last year, and burglary was the most common offense, according to a local newspaper Friday.

The United Evening News cited the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics as saying that a total of 1,898 foreigners were involved in 2,001 criminal cases last year, down 18.4 percent from a peak of 2,325 in 2009 but still up from around 800 in 2004. The National Police Agency said the decline in criminal cases involving foreign nationals was down because of an active crackdown in recent years.

The statistics do not include figures for foreign nationals from China, Hong Kong or Macau, which are categorized separately. More than 85 percent of offenders were from Asia, and those from Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were the most common offenders. Burglary was the most common crime, followed by offenses against public safety, such as drunk driving and arson, and drug trafficking.