Here’s How Much These Taiwanese Stars Paid To Evade Military Service

Earlier this year, Taiwanese actor Wang Ta Lu, 34, was arrested for evading military service. He was found to have paid an organisation to fake a heart condition, forging a medical document that allowed him to be excused from compulsory conscription.

Ta Lu’s case sparked a massive domino effect. The authorities began looking into a “military evasion ring”, and later found 14 more individuals who allegedly evaded their military duties using similar methods.

The list includes: Actor Chen Bolin, 42, actor Xiu Jie Kai, 42, Energy‘s Chang Shuwei, 44, Lollipop‘s William Liao, 40, and Liljay, 39, and singer Nine Chen, 38.

In Taiwan, all males without valid exemptions are required to serve in the military by the time they turn 36.

Taiwanese authorities are now investigating a syndicate that allegedly helped celebrities dodge mandatory military service by falsifying medical documents to get exemption.

Wang Ta Lu reportedly paid the highest sum for this “service”. He’s said to have forked out NT$3.6mil (S$152K), while his, um, comrades, reportedly paid around NT$100,000 to NT$500,000 (S$4.2K to S$21K).

Chen Bolin, on the other hand, reportedly paid the lowest amount — around S$4.2K — for a fake medical report, or 36 times less than what Wang Ta Lu allegedly spent.

Netizens are having a field day with the scandal, nicknaming Bolin “Sha Jia Boy” — aka “Bargain Boy” — for paying the lowest fee.

They’ve even rebranded him “Saja Boy” (yes, just like the K-pop group in Demon Hunters) and started parodying his dramas with hilarious twists. In Time With You became “In Time I Will Skip Military”, and Dead Talents Society turned into “Only the Dead Go to Military.”

Energy’s Chang Shuwei reportedly paid around S$6.3K, while his bandmate Hsieh Kunda was said to have paid between S$8.4K and S$12.6K for the falsified documents.

Meanwhile, Lollipop’s Liljay allegedly paid S$12.6K for his fake report, and Xiu Jie Kai has admitted to paying S$6.4K to fabricate high blood pressure test results.