A serving police officer in New Taipei has been charged with using police computers to pull private records for a fraud gang, in a case that undercuts public trust in the force.

• Prosecutors in Taipei charged the officer, who headed two local police stations, with breaking data protection law and leaking secrets, and asked for four and a half years in prison.
• He is accused of searching the police system for a fraud suspect's personal details, car records, and gang or wanted-person flags, plus case information for a friend whose bank account had been frozen.
• The fraud ring itself allegedly trapped a breakfast shop owner who needed cash, using fake car and home loans and bogus medical equipment deals, then forced him to hand over property and sign promissory notes.
• The gang took more than NT$18.9 million; prosecutors want ten years for the ringleader and six years each for two women involved.

Outlook: The case now goes to court, and the police force faces pressure to show its internal checks can catch officers selling access to citizens' data.