PETALING JAYA: Social media influencer Ady Hu, 31, is currently being detained alongside another Malaysian from Bentong in Taiwan's Changhua district on suspicion of committing fraud.
At a press conference with Hu's parents on Thursday (Dec 19), Bilut assemblyman Lee Chin Chen said that after contacting officials from the Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre, he was informed that another young man from Bentong had also been arrested.
However, the identity of this young man is currently unknown, and no family members have yet sought his help in locating the individual.
"The young man is believed to be involved in another fraud case, and we will ask the officials for more details," Lee said.
He explained that in Taiwan if one violates Article 339 Subparagraph 4 of the Fraud Act, once convicted, one could be sentenced to between one and seven years in jail, fined up to NT$1mil (RM 137,793), or both, Chinese language daily China Press reported.
Lee said that Hu appeared confused when he was arrested, suggesting that he had been fooled by a friend into believing he could make money while having fun in Taiwan, without realising he was involved in illegal activities.
"This case is still under investigation, and I hope everyone will refrain from passing judgment before all the facts are known," he said.
Lee also said that due to visa-free policies and language similarities, Chinese Malaysians have become targets for fraud syndicates, lured to Taiwan with high salaries to work as "runners", a local term for doing odd jobs.
"According to Taiwanese media reports, in the first nine months of this year, 64 Malaysians have committed fraud in Taiwan, which is higher than the total of 59 for the whole of last year, and the trend is on the rise," he said.
Lee said that Malaysians often hear about their compatriots being deceived into going to Myanmar and Cambodia, but the number of young Chinese Malaysians being deceived in Taiwan is also increasing year by year.
Therefore, he urged young people not to believe in "free lunches" and high-paying jobs in a short period of time. Even if they want to work overseas, they must discuss it with their families to ensure they are not being used by fraud syndicates.
Hu's mother, Leong Foong Yin, said that the most important thing was to ensure her son's safety.
At the press conference, Leong and her husband tearfully thanked everyone for their help in finding their son in less than a day.
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Lee, meanwhile, said that Hu's brother, who works in Shanghai, China, flew to Taiwan on Thursday morning. He is preparing, with the assistance of local officials, to meet Hu at the Changhua Detention Center.
"Hu is allowed to have visitors, and we also plan to apply to the Changhua Detention Center for Hu to have a video call with his parents in Malaysia," Lee added.
According to Taiwan's ETtoday News, the Yuanlin Police Substation in Changhua district apprehended a 31-year-old influencer named Hu, who had visited Taiwan as a tourist but was found to be involved in a scam group.
Upon investigation, it was ascertained that Hu and the apprehended individual were indeed the same person, leading to Hu's subsequent detention.
The fraud incident occurred in December when a middle-aged woman in Changhua joined an online investment platform on social media, lured by the promise of hefty returns.
After two in-person transactions amounting to NT$2.3mil (RM3.2mil), she realised she had been defrauded.
On Dec 11, she made another in-person transaction with the scam group, handing over an additional NT$2mil (RM2.7mil). The police arrested a 31-year-old man named Hu at the scene.
Hu claimed to be a Malaysian influencer visiting Taiwan for a holiday under the visa exemption policy. He had believed that he could earn money during his trip but was unaware that he had been ensnared in a scam.
Following police questioning, the case was handed over to legal authorities under suspicions of fraud, money laundering, and breaches of banking laws. A request for Hu's detention was subsequently approved.
Reportedly, upon confirming Hu's identity, Taiwanese police promptly informed the Malaysian authorities in Taiwan.
