The China Post
Date: December 5, 2016
By: The China Post news staff

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Police have arrested seven suspected members of the Bamboo Union (竹聯幫) — one of the largest organized crime groups in Taiwan — after the members were accused of running a violent debt-collection ring, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said Sunday.

According to a CIB statement, the seven — including a suspected ringleader surnamed Yu (余) — are suspects behind a crime ring operating in Taipei’s Daan and Zhongshan districts.

The suspects are accused of said having control over major nightclubs in the two districts, as well as working as loan sharks.

They are accused of not only verbally threatening debtors, but also harming them with guns, hammers and knives, the CIB said.    [FULL  STORY]