Taiwanese celebrity Prince Chiu arrested in draft evasion crackdown

In a new round of crackdown operations against draft evasions by male celebrities in Taiwan, Prince Chiu Sheng-yi of Lollipop F was arrested by authorities on Wednesday.

He admitted to paying a draft evasion group NT$330,000 to falsify his blood pressure records to avoid military service, local media reported. He was granted bail of NT$500,000 pending further investigation.

Authorities launched a new round of arrests on Wednesday, arresting him at his residence in Nangang, Taipei, in the morning. Chiu was handcuffed and taken to the police station for questioning. 

Chiu claimed he was exempt from military service due to poor health when arrested, but admitted during questioning that he had paid a draft evasion group NT$330,000 more than 10 years ago to falsify his blood pressure records to avoid military service, local media reported.

Chiu became the third member of Lollipop F arrested for draft evasion after William and Liljay, bringing the total number of celebrities involved to 19. 

Authorities have been conducting operations since last year, detaining and prosecuting male celebrities who falsify medical records to evade military service.

Among them was award-winning actor and singer Hsueh Shih-ling, who was accused of paying NT$300,000 to a group of deserters to falsify his blood pressure records, obtaining a "moderate hypertension" diagnosis and successfully exempting him from military service.