TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Prosecutors have uncovered a fraudulent scheme to rig the recruitment examinations at three top state-run enterprises, reports said Tuesday (Nov. 1).
The scam involved 101 people at oil company CPC Corp. Taiwan, energy utility Taiwan Power Company (Taipower), and China Steel Corporation (CSC), per CNA. Eight staff members reportedly admitted they gained their positions at the companies by taking part in the scheme.
The chief suspect, a man named Wu (吳), 40, helped a man win a job at Taipower in 2016, and entrusted him with recruiting more candidates who were prepared to cheat in their entrance exams, according to investigators. In 2018, the scheme was expanded to cover CSC.
Each participant had to put down an advance of NT$20,000 ($620) for a smartphone, an earpiece, and signaling equipment. Once selected for the exam, the recruit would have to pay an additional NT$1.2 million to NT$1.5 million, with a person in the pay of the fraud ring relaying the answers to the written examination questions into the participant’s earpiece.
After the written exam stage was over, the group would coach the paying candidates how to improve their resume and how to perform during the oral examination phase.
As the fraud ring was believed to have helped more than 100 people gain jobs during 10 examination rounds at three state-run corporations, its income had reached more than NT$100 million, prosecutors said.
Until now, only 20 employees had admitted participating in the scam, while five ring leaders were indicted in Kaohsiung. On Monday (Oct. 31), investigators picked up an additional five staff members at CPC, two at Taipower, and one at CSC. After questioning, they admitted having paid to receive their appointment.
