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Lovelorn farmer robbed of life savings by female con artist
A 20-year-old alleged con artist, who works at a hostess bar,
was handcuffed by plainclothes police officers yesterday,
while the love-struck farmer she allegedly conned followed,
unwilling to believe that he fell for a scam.
Yesterday in Taipei City, Apple Daily witnessed
the arrest of the alleged female swindler.
After three plainclothes police officers revealed their identities,
the alleged con artist quickly pulled out a face mask and covered her face.
Police: ;Would you just follow us to the police station first?
If you work with us you can walk by yourself.
If not we·ll have to handcuff you.:
Woman: ;Why should I go with you?:
Police: ;Go! Just go!:
Woman: ;I have the right to freedom of speech.:
Police: ;Okay, but go first.:
Woman: ;I·m gonna ask my lawyer to come first.:
Police: ;Okay, no problem, just go!:
Woman: ;I don·t want to, I don·t want to.:
Police: ;If you don·t come with us we·ll have to handcuff you.:
Woman: ;Why?:
Police: ;Don·t you know what you·ve done?:
Woman: ;What are you talking about? I didn·t know it was him! I ...:
Police: ;Didn·t know it was him?:
Police: ;Do you know this woman?: Farmer: ;Yes:
Police: ;Is she the one who took money from you?:
Police: ;She took money from you, right?:
Woman: ;He didn·t give me money, okay?:
Police: ;Did she take money from you?:
Farmer: ;Yes, before, but not yet today.:
Police: ;So she·s taken money from you before.:
Farmer: ;Yes, yes, yes.:
The officers arrested the alleged con artist,
while the 51-year-old victim, a farmer surnamed Wu,
followed her,
refusing to believe that he had been scammed.
The alleged swindler, surnamed Lin,
randomly called the victim in June before Dragon Boat Festival,
and began scamming the victim, who·s a beetle nut farmer.
She started her scam with an ;I miss you so much: tactic,
and called him frequently over the next four days.
Woman: ;Can you buy me out of the hostess bar contract?:
She allegedly told Wu that she wanted to marry him,
so last month the farmer cobbled together US$5,600 and brought the money to her in Taipei.
But the hostess bar accountant asked for US$7,700 more.
Wu came up with another US$2,450 and made a second trip to Taipei.
Lin went to a hotel room with him and they had sex.
Five days later, Wu gathered the remaining US$5,250.
Woman: ;I don·t feel well.:
The woman made up an excuse to avoid having sex.
One week later �
Woman: ;I owe my coworker US$4,560 and have no money to pay her back
help me!:
Wu gave her the money a few days later, and they had sex again.
The woman then called again to ask for money.
Woman: ;A client is going to pay US$3,500 for me. I·m going to go with him.:
Wu: ;I can·t get that much money.:
The farmer called the police for help,
but the police told him it was likely he had been conned.
Police told Wu to schedule a meeting with Lin yesterday,
and arrested her on the scene.
Wu·s love life had always been rough.
Ten years ago over a dispute about in-laws, his wife left him and took their children.
They divorced a year later.
Two years ago he spent US$24,560
to marry an Indonesian woman,
but his Indonesian wife ran away seven days after they tied the knot.
Ex-wife: ;I married him so I could come to Taiwan to make money.:
His ex-wife told the police this after she was arrested.
It made the farmer sad.
Apple: ;He was scammed three times ...
Did that happen a long time ago?:
Victim·s brother: ;No, it happened over the past two years.
I don·t want to deal with this anymore.:
Victim·s mother: ;Each time my son would ask for my savings.
Apple: ;How much have you spent on trying to help him get married?
You don·t know?:
Victim·s mother: ;I can·t remember.:
Lawyers say the woman committed fraud
because she scammed Wu on three separate occasions
and received a total of US$17,900.
She could be tried on three counts
and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Apple Daily News