Gravel Theft Fills with Waste: Kaohsiung's Meinong Farmlands Turn into "Grand Canyon"; Councilor's Special Assistant and Crime Syndicate Indicted

On February 3, 2026, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office issued the first wave of indictments in the shocking "Meinong Grand Canyon" case, charging crime syndicate leader Lu Chi-tien, landowner Shih Li-chun, and 10 others with violations of the Waste Disposal Act and the Organized Crime Prevention Act. Shih Li-chun, former special assistant to Kaohsiung City Councilor Chu Hsin-chiang, leveraged her political connections and land resources to participate deeply in this ecological crime. The illegal syndicate excavated high-quality gravel from agricultural and state-owned lands in Meinong, Kaohsiung, creating massive pits up to 20 meters deep, which locals dubbed the "Grand Canyon." To double their illicit profits, the group then backfilled these craters with construction waste from across the island, including steel bars, concrete debris, and bentonite, before covering them with a thin layer of clean soil to evade inspection. The prosecutors strongly condemned the syndicate for destroying national land and endangering water resources in water protection zones, requesting heavy sentences for the key figures.