Taipei prosecutors said yesterday that they had not decided whether Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was guilty of any wrongdoing after questioning him for four hours over alleged misuse of his special expense fund.
"Ma was questioned [yesterday] as a concerned party, and his status remains that of a concerned party following the interview," Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office spokesman Chang Wen-cheng (張文政) told a press conference.
Chang said Ma, interviewed from 8:50am to 12:50pm, detailed his handling of his special allowance fund during his time in office.
Ma cooperated fully with the investigation, Chang added.
Chang said it was too early to say whether Ma was guilty of anything and whether he would be charged.
"Prosecutors need time to look at Ma's statement and compare it with the evidence gathered," Chang said, adding that Ma offered prosecutors a number of documents related to his usage of the special allowance.
Chang said Prosecutor Hou Kuan-jen (
Other Black Gold Investigation Center prosecutors, including Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁), who indicted first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) on corruption and forgery charges in connection with the handling of the "state affairs fund," joined the Ma investigation to avoid controversy different investigation standards from those used during the first family's investigation, Chang added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Hsieh Hsin-ni (謝欣霓) and several of her colleagues filed a lawsuit with the Black Gold Investigation Center on Aug. 4 accusing Ma of using his special allowance fund to pay for a physical exam and fees to adopt a dog known as Ma Hsiao-jeou (馬小九).
DPP lawmakers accused Ma of spending NT$79,700 (US$2,430) from the special allowance on his dog. They also accused him of embezzling half of his special monthly mayoral allowance, or NT$170,000, alleging that he deposits the funds into his personal account every month.
Ma has admitted using money from the fund to adopt his dog but said that the bill came to only NT$9,900 and that he had repaid that amount.
After being questioned, Ma said he had always run his administration according to the law, but declined to reveal the content of the questioning.
"I have adhered to the law and separated my public and private interests," Ma said.
While declining to comment on his conversation with the prosecutors, Ma insisted he had explained the matter in detail, and believed that the prosecutors would make their judgment in accordance with the law.
In response to questions from reporters about including money left in the fund in his declaration of property, Ma said he did so according to the Act on Property Declarations by Public Servants (
Ma said that he spent half of the monthly NT$340,000 fund, which requires receipts, on gifts for weddings, funerals and rewards for his employees.
The other half of the fund, which did not require receipts, went into his personal account.
He dismissed speculation that there was any discrepancy between the total of his receipts and the actual expenditure.
"I have a lot of confidence in the prosecutors," he added.
Ma was scheduled to meet the prosecutors at 9:30am, but the meeting was moved forward by 30 minutes and the location was changed.
Taipei City Government officials yesterday acknowledged that the prosecutors changed the time and location after learning that the media had acquired the information, but they denied leaking the news.
also see story:
Substitute receipts discovered in mayoral account
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS