The deportation of 32 Taiwanesetelecom fraud suspects from Malaysia to the Chinese mainland onSaturday complies with the international law and will help betterfight crimes, experts have said.
A total of 97 suspects implicatedin more than 100 major telecom fraud cases across the mainland,were repatriated, including 32 from Taiwan. All the victims of thefraud trap are mainland residents.
Wherever the criminals are, themainland has territorial jurisdiction over these cases as theresults of the fraud happened on the mainland, said Li Juqian,deputy head of the International Law School under China Universityof Political Science and Law (CUPL).
“It is in accordance with theinternational and mainland law that Malaysia deported the suspectsto the mainland. The move is unchallengeable in terms of law,” Lisaid.
China’s law enforcement agencieshave cooperated with their counterparts in countries like thePhilippines, Malaysia and Indonesia in cracking down on telecomfrauds since 2011, according to Ma Chengyuan, a law professor withthe CUPL.
Given diplomatic relations andextradition treaties that China established and inked with thesecountries, as well as criminal justice pacts signed with some ofthem, China can cooperate with them if crimes are committed there,no matter suspects are from the mainland or Taiwan, Ma said.
In late March, Malaysian andChinese mainland police cooperated in destroying five telecom frauddens located in Malaysia, and nabbed 117 Chinese suspects,including 65 from the mainland and 52 from Taiwan.
Among those from Taiwan, 20 weretransferred to Taiwan authorities on April 15. The mainlandgovernment requested Malaysia to transfer the rest of the suspectsto the mainland.
The mainland used to transferTaiwanese suspects to Taiwan, which was in compliance with therelevant cross-Strait agreement and no more than an internaldivision of work, Ma said.
As stipulated by the mainland’sCriminal Law, the mainland enjoys territorial jurisdiction overtelecom fraud cases based overseas and targeting mainland legalpersons and residents, as the results happen on the mainland.
Considering the comparative lighterpunishment that telecom swindlers face in Taiwan, experts said,repatriating Taiwanese suspects to the mainland and trying themaccording to mainland laws will help better fight crimes andprotect legitimate rights and interests of people across theStrait.
Telecom frauds could face a maximumprison sentence of five years in Taiwan, while the maximum is lifesentence on the mainland, said Fan Chongyi, professor from theCUPL’s Procedural Law Research Institute.
“Telecom fraud has been on the riseand done great harm to the interests of mainland legal persons andresidents. Suspects who were sent back to Taiwan were given lenientsentences or even acquitted. Many of them later resumed swindling,”Fan said.
Malaysia deported the suspects tothe mainland “solely for the need to fight crimes,” law expert ChenJingtian said. “It is completely unnecessary to politicize themove.” Endi
