KMT Legislator Kuo Ting-tsai (
Kuo, who was chairman of the Tungkang Credit Cooperative (
Kuo, 63, was found to have instructed the cooperative's staff to doctor account books and forge certificates of deposit, and to have removed NT$2.3 billion from the cooperative since April 1996.
The court found that Kuo then diverted the money to the Fahua Securities Investment Trust Co, where he served as chairman between May 1996 and January 1997, to invest in the stock market. But the company itself was also a victim as Kuo had tampered with the company's certificates of deposit and used them to borrow money from the Tungkang cooperative during the period.
The court found that after his departure from the company, Kuo's son, Kuo Chia-cheng (
The scandal came to light last July when investigators at the Central Deposit Insurance Corp (
Following disclosure of the scandal last year, the Tangkang co-operative became victim of a bank run when many of its customers withdrew their funds, and was taken over by the Bank of Taiwan.
The Kuos, along with Hsu Shu-chin (
During the investigations, Kuo went into hiding to dodge questioning by prosecutors between legislative sessions. When the session began, he used legislators' immunity from arrest to protect himself from prosecutors.
During the trial, the legislator did not answer the court's summons until his son was ordered to be detained by the district court.
The district court sentenced Kuo to 12 years yesterday, while his son was sentenced to one year and two months. The cooperative's chief accountant was given 11 years and 10 months and another eight of the cooperative's accountants were given sentences ranging from one year to five years.
Kuo and the others can appeal to a higher court and his legislative office will not be affected until his conviction is confirmed by the Supreme Court.
Apart from embezzlement, the KMT legislator is also being tried for a land-rezoning case, in which he has been accused of graft when he was a member of the Pingtung County Urban Planning Committee between 1989 and 1992.
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or