PUBLISHED ONOctober 25, 2024 10:11 AMBySyarifah NadhirahTaiwanese singer Jay Chou will be performing at the Taipei Arena from Dec 5 to 8, and over 150,000 tickets were snatched up in just five minutes on Oct 23.
Scalpers then sold the highly coveted items for up to NT300,000 (S$12,000) per ticket, prompting Taipei mayor Chiang Wan-an to order a strict investigation.
According to local media, the police received over 300 tip-offs in a day, and yesterday (Oct 24), they cracked down on one of the biggest cases.
A high-profile married couple surnamed Liu and Zhang are suspected to have used illegal methods and a large number of fake accounts to snag 198 tickets, with more than half said to have been re-sold.
They had posted listings on various social media platforms such as Line, X and Shopee.
The husband Liu, 43, and his wife Zhang, 33, were hiding in a five-star hotel in Taoyuan and arrested on scene.
Police officers found close to 100 groups of fans enquiring about the tickets, with more than half having paid for them and the amount totalling up to NT$2 million.
Investigations found that the couple have allegedly been engaged in the ticket scalping trade for nearly 10 years.
Media reports also said the woman often posted on social media photos of overseas holidays with Liu and their four children as well as of them attending concerts and staying and dining at lavish places.
The police have reportedly sent a request to the Department of Cultural Affairs to void all the tickets listed on a ticket scalping platform.
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syarifahsn@asiaone.com
