A Yilan crime ring used young women as bait to lure men into sex and then extorted them with a fake husband, and ten members have now been sentenced — bad news for the gang, small comfort for victims who lost millions.

• A wealthy landowner was lured to a KTV night out, taken home by a woman posing as drunk, then ambushed by men claiming to be her husband.
• He was beaten with an ashtray, forced to sign a NT$5 million promissory note, and handed over NT$3.76 million ten days later.
• The gang ran the same play at least twice more, using hidden cameras in hotel rooms and karaoke bars to pressure two other men, who both refused to pay.
• Three victims are known so far, and the money was split among the ringleaders and the woman involved.

Outlook: Sentences run from three months to one year and two months, with the lighter terms convertible to fines, so most of those convicted are unlikely to serve real prison time.