Joanne Liu Ordered Detained and Held Incommunicado by New Taipei District Court for Serious Drug Offense

(CNA, by Huang Hsu-sheng, New Taipei, 6th) After being transferred to the Taiwan New Taipei District Prosecutors Office for questioning on June 5 for her involvement in a drug case, prosecutors determined that Joanne Liu was a major suspect in the crime of transporting Category 1 drugs and filed for her detention incommunicado, citing risks of flight and collusion. The Taiwan New Taipei District Court today ruled to grant the request.

The New Taipei District Court issued a message in the afternoon stating that after questioning the defendant, surnamed Liu, and considering the relevant evidence presented by the prosecutor, the court found her to be a major suspect in crimes including the transportation of Category 1 drugs under Article 4, Paragraph 1 of the Narcotics Hazard Prevention Act.

The court stated that the alleged crime of transporting Category 1 drugs is a serious offense with a minimum sentence of life imprisonment. Furthermore, there are risks of evidence destruction, collusion with accomplices, a reasonable belief of a risk of flight, and a risk of repeatedly committing the same offense. Therefore, the court found that there are grounds for detention under the Code of Criminal Procedure and that detention and a ban on visitation and communication are necessary.

In 2019, Joanne Liu, aware that an arrest warrant was to be issued for her in an embezzlement case, absconded to the United States. During her time in the U.S., she was wanted for several other drug-related cases. A special task force of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Agency, Ministry of the Interior, continued to cooperate with U.S. authorities. On January 22 of last year, U.S. authorities arrested Liu in Boston, and she was extradited to Taiwan on June 4. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150606