TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The chair of the Weichen Group charity and gangster Wu Ming-ta (吳明達) and his driver were shot outside a Taipei sauna on Wednesday evening (July 10).
Police received a report that the shooting occurred outside the entrance to the Tian Long Sauna on Chongqing North Road in Datong District, per CNA. When officers arrived at the scene, they found Wu and his driver had already left.
Based on surveillance camera footage, at around 5 p.m., Wu was chatting with his driver and a group of people in front of the sauna, reported TVBS. As they were about to leave, a 33-year-old man surnamed Peng (彭) fired five shots toward Wu.
Wu was shot in the hand, while the driver was shot in the leg. Neither of them suffered life-threatening injuries, and both later sought medical treatment on their own.
Peng later turned himself in at a Ningxia police station and handed over the gun used in the shooting. Police were also collecting evidence at the scene and questioned Wu and the driver at the hospital.
According to the police, Peng had been waiting outside the sauna since the afternoon. Peng told authorities he owned a coffee shop and shot Wu because he was unhappy with having to pay Wu's subordinate protection fees, reported Mirror Media.

However, because it would be difficult for Peng to obtain the type of gun used, police are not ruling out the possibility the shooting was gang-related.
Wu started his career in organized crime as a minor gang leader in Datong District but made a name for himself after he shot and killed Tang Chung-sheng (唐重生), the leader of the Bei Lien gang (北聯幫), in 1999, per Mirror Media. He was sentenced to life but was released on parole.
After his release, he worked at a sauna in Datong District, and later founded the Weichen Group, attempting to create a legitimate business image, according to Mirror Media.
In 2022, Wu had a debt dispute with a developer in New Taipei's Taishan District. The developer sought mediation from Huang Ching-yuan (黃清源), then the chair of Bangka Qingshan Temple and the leader of the Fangming Hall (芳明館) gang.
The mediation failed, and Wu hired a gunman to assassinate Huang. The gunman, however, informed Huang of the plot, per Mirror Media. In April 2022, Wu then ordered a shooting at Fangming Hall, which he was then arrested for.
After Wu's arrest, police discovered his involvement in several online gambling and underground currency exchange cases, with illegal proceeds laundered to China. In August of last year, the Taipei District Court sentenced Wu to one year and eight months for attempted murder and gambling-related offenses, confiscating over NT$1.56 million (US$48,000) in criminal proceeds.
