Former KMT business chief indicted

Taipei prosecutors yesterday charged former chairman of the KMT Investment and Business Management Committee Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) with a variety of offenses relating to 12 corporate scandals.

Taipei Chief Prosecutor Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) recommended a 16-year sentence for theft, corruption, breach of trust, document forgery and violating the Securities Transaction Law (證券交易法), the Corporation Law (公司法), the Money Laundering Control Law (洗錢防制法) and Business Accounting Law (商業會計法).

"We decided to indict Liu and suggested a 16-year sentence for him because evidence showed that he has done things which he was not supposed to do while holding an important position and political links to the former ruling party," said Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達), spokesman for the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office.

As of press time yesterday, the Taipei District Court was deliberating whether to release Liu, also a former chairman of the China Development Holding Corp, on bail.

Liu was originally investigated for allegedly accepting a NT$1.06 billion kickback from Su Hui-chen (蘇惠珍), majority shareholder of Zanadau Development Corp, in return for a promise to help her secure bank financing in 1995.

It was during these investigations that prosecutors discovered from Liu's bank transactions that he also used KMT assets to invest in other companies or in mortgages for personal purposes while he was chairman of the KMT Investment and Business Management Committee during the presidency of Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).

For these suspected crimes, nine others were charged along with Liu.

Former KMT Investment and Business Management Committee secretary-general Darby Liu (劉大貝) was charged with theft and breach of trust for helping Liu Tai-ying use KMT assets to invest in Taiwan Pineapple stock.

China Green Fiber Corp general manager Cheng Tsung-cheng (鄭淙王爭) was charged with document forgery in the Taiwan Pineapple case.

Kuo-hung International Development Corp president Su Chih-jen (蘇志仁), younger brother of Su Chih-cheng (蘇志誠), former close aide to the former president Lee, was charged along with former KMT lawmaker Lin Ming-i (林明義) with breach of trust.

They allegedly try to help Liu Tai-ying get construction licenses for a cemetery project in which he had invested KMT assets.

China Development Holding Corp Executive vice president Shih Jer-shyong (施哲雄) was charged with violating the Business Accounting Law, document forgery and breach of trust for helping Liu to illegally buy stock from China Development Holding Corp's minority shareholders.

Chen Kun-yung (陳崑永), another China Development Holding Corp executive vice president, and Wei-cheng Group president Hsieh Wen-chin (謝文欽) were charged with breach of trust, document forgery and violation of the Corporation Law for helping Liu Tai-ying invest in a project to set up a chain of gas stations that failed.

China Development Holding Corp Business Manager Chen Jui-hsun (陳瑞勳) was charged with breach of trust, document forgery, violations of the Corporation Law and Business Accounting Law for his role in the gas stations project.

Chiaotoubao Corp president Yang Ching-lan (楊青嵐) was charged with breach of trust, document forgery and violation of the Corporation Law for aiding Yu invest KMT assets in food processing factories which were never built.

Liu was once known as the KMT's unofficial treasurer and was a close friend of Lee's. He is widely thought to have exercised ultimate control over the KMT's assets during Lee's presidency and chairmanship of the party.