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
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
The High Court yesterday found a New Taipei City woman guilty of charges related to helping Beijing secure surrender agreements from military service members. Lee Huei-hsin (李慧馨) was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison for breaching the National Security Act (國家安全法), making illegal compacts with government employees and bribery, the court said. The verdict is final. Lee, the manager of a temple in the city’s Lujhou District (蘆洲), was accused of arranging for eight service members to make surrender pledges to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army in exchange for money, the court said. The pledges, which required them to provide identification
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
’DISTORTION’: Beijing’s assertion that the US agreed with its position on Taiwan is a recurring tactic it uses to falsely reinforce its sovereignty claims, MOFA said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said Chinese state media deliberately distorted Taiwan’s sovereign status, following reports that US President Donald Trump agreed to uphold the “one China” policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). During the more than one-hour-long call, Xi urged Trump to retreat from trade measures that roiled the global economy and cautioned him against threatening steps on Taiwan, a Chinese government summary of the call said. China’s official Xinhua news agency quoted Xi as saying that the US should handle the Taiwan issue cautiously and avoid the two countries being drawn into dangerous
RSS