Liberty Times E-Paper, August 21, 2026
By Reporter Chang Hsuan-Che / Taichung
Swiss watch brand IWC Schaffhausen watches were being sold for as little as TWD 2,600! The Taichung Harbor Police Brigade discovered in a Facebook group that a user was selling various luxury watches, including IWC, Rolex, and Audemars Piguet, for only a few thousand dollars. After making purchases to collect evidence, police confirmed that all of the watches were counterfeit. In April this year, police searched the residence of a man surnamed Cheng and seized 130 Chinese-made counterfeit watches hidden inside a rooftop water tank. Following an investigation, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office recently concluded the case and indicted Cheng for violating the Trademark Act.
The Taichung Harbor Police Brigade stated that officers recently discovered during online patrols that Cheng, 43, was selling IWC luxury watches at extremely low prices on Facebook. Suspecting something was amiss, police had the watches examined and confirmed that they were counterfeit. Further investigation revealed that Cheng was also selling watches bearing other well-known brands, including Audemars Piguet, Rolex, and Chanel. Police subsequently conducted an in-depth investigation and, after collecting evidence over an extended period, obtained a search warrant from the court and searched Cheng’s residence in Taipei in April this year.
Police did not find any counterfeit watches inside Cheng’s residence, but they did discover a large quantity of empty watch boxes and packaging cartons. After comparing these items with Cheng’s numerous online sales posts, police found a significant discrepancy between the number of watches advertised online and the physical watches found at the residence. After persistent questioning, Cheng eventually admitted that, in an attempt to evade police detection, he had deliberately drained the rooftop water tank and hidden the counterfeit watches, computer equipment, and other items inside it.
After learning this, police entered the narrow water tank to conduct a search and seized 130 counterfeit watches, with an estimated infringing market value exceeding TWD 90 million. Cheng had no prior criminal record. He admitted that he had purchased low-priced, poor-quality counterfeit watches from China and sold them online for profit because he was short of money.
The Taichung Harbor Police Brigade urged the public not to be tempted by unusually low prices when shopping online. Consumers should exercise particular caution when well-known brand-name products are offered at prices significantly below market levels, and should avoid purchasing products from unknown sources or at unusually low prices in order to avoid inadvertently purchasing counterfeit goods.