Playing Polymarket betting on Ko Wen-je's victory, Hsinchu engineer loses money and receives a 20-day detention and 2-year probation.

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Hsinchu Engineer Sentenced to 20 Days in Jail, Suspended for 2 Years for Playing Polymarket

According to the criminal summary judgment of the Hsinchu District Court, an engineer surnamed Liu from Hsinchu placed a bet through the prediction platform "Polymarket" last year, predicting the outcome of the Taiwan Presidential Election event "Taiwan Presidential Election: Who will win?"

On December 11th last year, Mr. Liu bet on Ko Wen-je winning, placing a bet of 49.99 USDC with odds of 1:5.2631.

If Ko Wen-je had won, he would have won 263.1 USDC, but in the end, he lost about NT$1,600. He was caught by the police for affecting the fairness of the election results.

The Hsinchu District Court sentenced Mr. Liu to 20 days in jail and a 2-year probation for the crime of "gambling property on election results through the Internet."

Judge's Consideration for Lenient Sentence

The Hsinchu District Court considered that Mr. Liu admitted his guilt, had a good attitude, and the illegal gambling period was not long. Therefore, he was sentenced to 20 days in jail, and if he chooses to pay a fine, NT$1,000 will be equivalent to 1 day.

In addition, the judge took into account Mr. Liu's lack of criminal record, his admission of guilt after the offense, and his awareness after this investigation and trial process, believing that he would not reoffend. Hence, he was granted a 2-year probation to encourage rehabilitation.

Previously reported, according to Article 88-1 of the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, anyone who gambles on election results in public places or places accessible to the public may face imprisonment for up to six months or a fine.

This also applies to gambling conducted through telecommunication devices, the Internet, or other means. Furthermore, providing a venue for gambling or organizing public gambling gatherings may result in imprisonment for up to five years or a fine.

How was I caught in the Polymarket election gambling incident?