Kaohsiung prosecutors yesterday indicted former deputy secretary-general to the Presidential Office Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) and numerous Kaohsiung City Government officials for corruption and breach of trust for their alleged involvment in the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) scandal.
"Prosecutors indicted 22 defendants, including officials, a Thai-worker brokerage company staffer and four Thai workers who led the Aug. 21 riot. We are still probing whether officials took bribes from the Kaohsiung MRT construction project," Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office Spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (鍾忠孝) said yesterday.
Chung said Chen Che-nan and former KRTC vice chairman Chen Min-hsien (
Prosecutors cited evidence of several trips to Thailand, Vietnam and South Korea, as well as "entertainment" paid for by the firm.
Chung said five commissioners from a committee that conducted six public bids for the Kaohsiung MRT construction project in 2002 -- including former director of the Kaohsiung Bureau of Rapid Transit Systems Chou Li-liang (
Chung added that the five commissioners were suspected of breaking a regulation on conducting public bidding by illegally favoring Hwang Chang Building Co (HCBC), because HCBC won an NT$8 billion (US$238 million) contract -- the largest awarded among the six auctions -- even though RSEA Engineering Co had offered a bid that was NT$2.7 billion cheaper.
According to prosecutors, the committee stipulated that any company that won two of the six auctions could not take part in the rest of the bidding, and it was suspected of manipulating the bidding process by holding auctions for smaller projects first.
Chung said that when major contender RSEA Engineering Co won the first two small bids, it was forced out of the game.
Chung added that former director of the Kaohsiung City Government's Bureau of Labor Affairs, Fan Lai-chin (
Chung said that when the Council of Labor Affairs last year received letters saying that MRT workers were being overworked, the council asked the bureau to evaluate whether the MRT needed to hire more domestic workers.
However, Chung added, the bureau did not investigate the matter as the council requested, but instead sent a document to the council saying that the number of workers was sufficient.
Chung said that the general manager of Huapan Co, Yen Shih-hua (
Chung said four Thais working for the Kaohsiung MRT project were held responsible for obstructing the performance of public duties and endangering public safety -- charges stemming from a riot in August.
On Aug. 21, some 300 of 1,700 Thai workers building the MRT rioted over their poor treatment at the hands of Huapan Co, exposing the scandal.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
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