From the Front Page Sections, translated…
A man, Wei, was an illegal middleman, in March, he’d helped an escaped foreign hired help to get a job, but, he’d taken ALL of her pay, and forced her to sleep with him, and, because the woman didn’t want to, he’d reported her as an illegal migrant worker; the Immigrations Department used the license plate given by the foreign hired help, found out Wei’s identity, they caught him and sent him to the police yesterday.
The Indonesian foreign helper, Tina (age 28), came to Taiwan last September, worked to take care of elderly persons in Toufeng, Miaoli, because the work was too hard and she couldn’t handle it, she’d escaped, and met up with Wei in Nantou, Wei said, that he was willing to introduce her to work at a fruit farm, to harvest vegetables and fruits, and she would get paid $1,500N.T. a day.
Tina agreed and went, she’d worked for over TEN hours a day, but, she hadn’t gotten paid a single cent, she’d asked her employer about it, the employer said, that the pays were taken by “Tsong” (Wei) already.
When Tina went to confront Wei about it, he’d said that she was of illegal status, that he’d put himself at risk, helping her to find work too, other than the $6,000N.T. for helping her find the job, he’d also wanted $800N.T. from her work paycheck each and every single day, and so, the total amount of $1,500N.T., subtract the $800N.T., and the rest is still subjected to the fees paid to the brokers.
At the start of April, Tina asked for her pay from Wei again, Wei told her, “If you’re willing to sleep with me, then, you’ll get paid tomorrow”, and Tina declined.
Wei saw that Tina would come to him often to get her pay, feared, that he may have to take money out of his own pockets to pay her, on April 7, he’d lied about how he was going to make a withdraw at the bank, drove Tina to Tsaotun, and, as he drove across a subprecinct, he’d handed Tina over to the police, told them, “She’s an illegal”, then, made his escape.
The local police took Tina to the Immigration Offices in Nantou, and Tina cried to them about how she’d gotten cheated by Wei, and handed the license plate she’d copied down of Wei’s car, to the specialist squad.
The Immigrations Department workers used the details provided, and, after three months of chasing down leads, found out who Wei is, and after they’d collected enough evidence, they’d brought him in yesterday. Wei denied having forced Tina to sleep with him, along with other allegations too, said that he wouldn’t loan her money, that, was why she’d libeled against him, and because she’s an escaped foreign hired help, that, was why he’d dropped her off at the subprecinct.
The police booked Wei based off of human trafficking, and the rules and regulations of employment, and took him into custody.
So, this, is how BAD it can get, for those foreign hired helpers, they don’t make enough as is, and, the people whom they’re signed under still manages to get a HUGE chunk of what those workers are making, and, these workers are here, trying to make a better life for themselves, and their families back home too.