The Special Investigation Panel of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office yesterday brushed off media reports that State Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) would leave his post once Taipei District Court hands down a ruling in former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) trial.
The Chinese-language weekly Next Magazine reported yesterday that Chen Tsung-ming was considering resigning after allegedly secretly meeting a construction contractor.
DISCUSSED AT MEETING
The magazine said that Chen Tsung-ming had discussed his possible resignation in a meeting with Special Investigation Panel prosecutors.
The prosecutors urged Chen Tsung-ming to stay on until after the Taipei District Court hands down the first ruling in the former president’s corruption trial, the magazine said.
The prosecutor-general has declined to comment on the matter.
REPORT DENIED
Special Investigation Panel Spokesman Chen Yun-nan (陳雲南) said he had heard no such thing and would not comment on the report or speculate on whether the prosecutor-general would resign because he was not Chen Tsung-ming.
However, he then added that the prosecutor-general had not mentioned resigning at the meeting with prosecutors.
Chen Tsung-ming has become the target of criticism by political pundits and has come under investigation by the Ministry of Justice and the Control Yuan since reports emerged that he was treated to expensive meals and dinners with supermodels.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
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