JAKARTA - Yunlin prosecutors indicted four people on June 10 over allegations that they recruited foreign nationals on visitor visas or overstayed visas to work in Taiwan’s agricultural and market sectors, Taiwan’s government-funded news agency Focus Taiwan said.
The defendants include a 50-year-old Taiwanese man surnamed Tsai, a Taiwanese woman surnamed Lin, a Taiwanese man surnamed Chang and a Thai woman who had overstayed her visa, prosecutors said. The indictment accused the group of arranging work and charging excessive brokerage fees.
Prosecutors said Tsai and Lin arranged for 19 Thai nationals who had overstayed their visas to work on farms and in wholesale markets in Yunlin and Changhua counties from December 2023. They were allegedly paid NT$60 to NT$150 an hour, below Taiwan’s NT$196 minimum hourly wage.
The alleged operation also involved cross-border recruitment. Prosecutors said Tsai worked with the indicted Thai suspect to bring two Thai nationals from Thailand to Taiwan on visitor visas after promising them jobs. Chang was accused of recruiting two Vietnamese nationals who had overstayed their visas to work with Tsai’s operation.
Taiwan’s Employment Services Act bans illegal labour referral involving foreign workers. Article 45 states, “No one may illegally refer Foreign Worker to work for any third party.” Article 64 says profit-driven violations can be punished by up to three years in prison, hard-labour detention, or a fine of up to NT$1.2 million.
Prosecutors said Tsai made more than NT$1 million in illegal profit. They did not specify how many foreign nationals were exploited in total. The foreign nationals were allegedly charged NT$6,000 to NT$65,000 in brokerage fees and NT$2,000 a month for accommodation and utilities.
The indictment follows earlier official concern over migrant worker rights in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor has previously released forced-labour prevention guidance on February 24 to help businesses reduce supply-chain risks and improve protection for migrant workers.
