Taiwan, in flip-flop, detains suspects deported from Kenya over telecoms scam

Officials from Taiwan arrive at the VIP exit of the airport in Beijing, China, Wednesday, April 20, 2016. Taiwanese officials are seeking to ensure fair treatment for their nationals who were deported from Kenya to face wire fraud charges in China. (Photo: AP)

Taipei: Taiwan prosecutors angered China over the weekend by freeing 20 Taiwanese suspected of defrauding Chinese nationals in a telecoms scam but on Thursday changed their minds, taking most of them into custody on suspicion of committing "serious crime".

The move came as island officials are in Beijing this week to negotiate the return of 45 of its citizens who were forcibly sent to China from Kenya and linked to a similar telephone fraud case abroad against Chinese nationals.