The Control Yuan yesterday voted to impeach former National Police Administration (NPA) chief Ding Yuan-chin (
A Control Yuan impeachment examination meeting voted 11 to 2 in favor of the impeachment case brought by Control Yuan members Chao Ron-yaw (
Outlining their decision in a document released to the press, the members stated that while he headed the NPA, Ding purchased a luxury villa worth over NT$38 million in Vision City (世界山莊) in Taipei's Wenshan district, but failed to provide a "reasonable explanation" as to where the money for the purchase came from.
Ding told Control Yuan investigators that most of the money was from his personal savings and loans from friends and relatives. But the Control Yuan says that he has failed to provide evidence of the loans.
Furthermore, Ding said that he received the loans in cash and was not to be charged interest. Chao and Lee argued yesterday that this was "irregular and involved improper interests."
Lee said that during the investigation, many discrepancies had been found between Ding's account and the statements of others.
"Ding's account deviates considerably from common practice, and falls far short of the standards demanded of police officers," Lee said.
A second reason cited for Ding's impeachment was that he failed to declare his assets honestly, as civil servants are required, in 1997 and 1999.
Chao said that the two accusations against Ding "possibly point to some underhanded deals" and said that was the main reason why the Control Yuan had voted to impeach Ding.
Ding's case first came to light in July, when Taipei city councilors Lee Ching-yuan (李慶元) and Chung Hsiao-ping (鍾小平) questioned how Ding could purchase a NT$38 million apartment on a police salary of NT$70,000 to NT$80,000 per month.
Media reports have raised suspicions that, since the villa was built by the Hualon Group (華隆集團), there may be a financial connection between Ding and the CEO of Hualon, Ong Da-ming (翁大銘).
Lee Ching-yuan and Chung also accused Ding of failing to pay donation taxes after accepting NT$6 million from his only son and NT$20 million from a close friend.
In a lawsuit in Taipei District Court, interior designer Ko Wen-Cheng (柯文正) is suing Ding's son, Ding Chao-chi (丁肇基) in a bid to recover over NT$4 million in allegedly unpaid interior design and decoration fees for the villa.
Ding stepped down from his position last year to accept responsibility for the Pachang Creek Tragedy (
Ding was impeached for dereliction of duty under Article Six of the Control Law.
His case will now go to the Committee on the Discipline of Public Functionaries (公務員懲戒委員會).
But the head of the public relations office of the Control Yuan's secretariat last night told the Taipei Times that because Ding is no longer a public servant, the impeachment "has no concrete significance, only a symbolic significance, because the committee cannot punish him.
"But it brings his credibility into question."
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