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Nantou chief detained on graft charges

Prosecutor at the Natou District Prosecutors' Office yesterday detained Nantou County Commissioner Peng Pai-hsien for alleged misappropriation of 921 earthquake relief funds and for favoring certain companies in connection with post-quake reconstruction. PHOTO: HSUEH CHIEH-YU, TAIPEI TIMES

Nantou District Court yesterday ordered that Nantou County Commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (彭百顯) be held incommunicado on corruption charges.

Following lengthy questioning starting Monday evening, the prosecution very early yesterday morning asked the court to detain Peng, and the court made its ruling at around 6:45am after a hearing.

The court said there was evidence suggesting that Peng had benefited certain companies by unlawful means in the contracting process for post-921 earthquake construction of the county government's temporary office buildings and had destroyed some evidence.

Another 15 people questioned on Monday, including Peng's wife Wu Wen-wan (吳文婉), had been released by prosecutors during the night.

Learning of Peng's detention, Wu and Peng's mother wept yesterday morning and told the media that he was innocent. Peng's mother said that he had been framed.

Pursued by a crowd of reporters when he stepped out of the court escorted by police, Peng did not say a word.

During a raid on the commissioner's office on Monday, prosecutors seized a piece of paper on which Peng had ordered his assistant to destroy account books of a foundation chaired by Peng, sources said.

Prosecutors suspect that around NT$30 million in financial donations from the public to the county government's official quake-relief account had been transferred to the two foundations, the New Nantou Reconstruction and Development Foundation (新南投重建發展基金會) and Nantou County Construction and Development Foundation (南投縣建設發展基金會). Peng is the chairman of both foundations.

On another piece of paper, also seized, Peng ordered his aides to seek the intervention of higher authorities into the investigation of the case, sources said.

Prosecutors reportedly found that the price difference between what the contractor offered and the government-set price ceiling for the NT$160 million construction project for the temporary government office building was less then NT$1 million and the contract was awarded on the last day of validity of the 921-quake emergency decree.

The emergency decree simplified the contracting procedure for emergency reconstruction projects under a certain value.

Having examined the evidence provided by the prosecutors, the court accepted the prosecution's inference that Peng had made under-the-table deals with certain contractors.

With Peng now in custody, Deputy Commissioner Lai Ying-fang (賴英芳) has taken over as acting commissioner.

He promptly held an emergency gathering to address high- and mid-ranking county government officials.

"We will not be defeated. If we were frustrated by the incident that would be just what some people would want," Lai said.

He said that the detention is just a temporary means to get at the truth and that he believes the judiciary will finally find out the truth and clear Peng's name.

In the county council session yesterday, Speaker Cheng Wen-tung (鄭文銅) made an apology to the public, bowing three times, for "not having served as a perfect check" on the county government.

The KMT speaker has been a keen political enemy of Peng.

Many councilors lashed out at Peng and said his troubles came primarily as a result of over-reliance on his personal aides.

"These temporary employees overrode the government system and made decisions arbitrarily," county councilor Sung Huai-lin (宋懷琳) said.

Since mid-October, two of Peng's special assistants have been detained.

Peng, a political independent, was once a close partner of President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) when both of them were DPP legislators.

Peng, however, withdrew from the DPP in 1997 after failing to secure the party's nomination for county commissioner. He won the election as an independent.

Peng's performance in governing the county has been controversial. Struggles between him and local politicians from different parties have been intense and he is relatively isolated.

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