Taipei - Taiwan prosecutors on Wednesday indicted 24 people for fixing baseball games, while the island's baseball league plans to seek damages from involved players. The 24 men - 7 players, one Japanese coach, gangsters, betting operators and a local lawmaker - were indicted on charges of gambling and fraud, Cheng Hsin-hung, spokesman for the Panciao Prosecutors' Office, told a news conference.
"The match-fixing went on from 2006 till 2009. We began investigating in October last year and questioned 42 people," he said.
The prosecutors dropped charges, or suspended indictment for some players because their offence was light, they confessed and paid back the illegal earnings, Cheng said.
The heaviest penalty was sought for Wu Chien-pao of Tainan County Council who forced some players to throw games.
Prosecutors sought nine years' imprisonment, 50 million Taiwan dollars (1.5 million US dollars) fine and three-year forced labour for him.
The prosecutors requested 18 months to two-year jail terms for the seven players, including two years each for former La New Bears pitcher Chang Chih-chia and Brother Elephants star outfield Chen Chih-yuan.
Shin Nakagomi, former manager and coach of Elephants, is the only foreigner in this scandal. Prosecutors sought 18 months' imprisonment for him.
All the indicted players denied they were guilty. "I am innocent, and I will appeal until the very end," Chen Chih-yuan told reporters.
But prosecutor Cheng said evidence showed all the implicated players took part in match-fixing in exchange for money, meals and sex service from prostitutes paid for by the gangsters.
"The biggest amount one player received was 2 million Taiwan dollars (625,000 US dollars)," he said.
The Chinese Professional Baseball League, whose four teams have all been involved in the latest match-fixing scandal, said it would seek compensation from the players who took part in match-fixing.
The case has dealt a new blow to Taiwan's national sport which has been plagued by match-fixing scandals, low stadium attendance and poor performance in international competitions.
In 2008, the Media T-Rex team disbanded over match-fixing allegations implicating the team's management and three players.
A 1996 match-fixing scandal scandal led to the dissolving of the China Times Eagles team.
The scandal has also destroyed the career of the involved players because in Taiwan, baseball teams cancel contracts with players once they are indicted, or even if they have been questioned by prosecutors.
