TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — After witnessing his passenger get money from an elderly man, an alert taxi driver in Yunlin drove the scam suspect to the police, helping the victim recover NT$500,000 (US$16,300) in cash.

According to ETtoday, the incident occurred on Thursday afternoon (Dec. 29) at around 1 p.m. The unnamed taxi driver, 66, noticed the 22-year-old suspect surnamed Liao (廖) received money from an elderly man after driving him to Gukeng.

The taxi driver grew suspicious of Liao because of this, and after Liao got back in the taxi, he drove straight to a police station. When Liao realized what the driver had done, he got out of the car in an attempt to escape on foot.

The driver got out of his car to chase him, shouting that there was a scammer, which drew the police’s attention. Together, the driver and the police subdued the suspect and arrested him near the police station.

The police found NT$500,000 in cash in Liao’s backpack. Though Liao claimed he had withdrawn the money from an ATM machine, the banknotes were wrapped with bands bearing the name of a Taiwan Cooperative Bank branch, indicating otherwise.

The victim, surnamed Lin (林), retrieved his money after being notified about the incident. He was allegedly told by someone pretending to be from law enforcement his National Health Insurance card had been used without authorization, a type of scam common in Taiwan.

Lin’s case has been transferred to the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office for further investigation. Yunlin County Police Bureau Douliu Precinct thanked the taxi driver for his bravery and assistance and urged the public to be aware of similar scams, to which the elderly often fall victim.

Yunlin police thank the unnamed taxi driver (center) for his heroism. (CNA photo)