Taiwan singer Yu Tian’s son-in-law receives suspended jail sentence for scam involvement

Gary Chen, the son-in-law of famed Taiwanese singers Yu Tian and Li Ya-ping, has been given a suspended jail sentence for his involvement with a scam syndicate.

The 37-year-old was arrested in April on suspicion of working as a chief runner for a scam syndicate.

Chen and eight others were handed charges in June by the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, including for fraud, money laundering and involvement in organised crime.

On Nov 12, the New Taipei District Court sentenced Chen to two years in jail, with a suspended sentence of five years.

According to Taiwanese media, he received a suspended sentence as he had no prior criminal record and had compensated the scam victims.

Chen will be under probation during this period, and has to perform 240 hours of community service and attend eight hours of lessons on legal education.

His wife was Ms Yu Yuan-chi, second daughter of Yu Tian, 76, and Li, 74. The couple also have another daughter and a son.

Yu rose to prominence with the song Under The Banyan Tree (1977), while Li is known for her rousing rendition of the song Wake Up, Lei Meng Na (1971). 

Ms Yu died of cancer at the age of 39 in August 2022. She had a daughter, who turns seven later in November, and a five-year-old son with Chen.

The family was in the news in June when Yu Tian and Li sought guardianship of their two grandchildren after Chen’s detention.

The couple told Taiwanese media after a mediation session at the court then that they had not reached a preliminary agreement with Chen and would seek further discussion.

Li told Taiwanese news portal SET News on Nov 12 that she respected the court’s decision to hand Chen a suspended jail sentence. She added that she had seen her two grandchildren in the past two weeks.