Former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) was sentenced yesterday to 12 years in prison for accepting bribes.
"As one of the government's top officials, Chen's behavior has seriously damaged the government's image. His behavior was unscrupulous," the Taipei District Court ruling said.
The ruling said Chen received NT$6 million (US$184,400) from developer Liang Po-hsun (梁柏薰) to bribe the judges in Liang's embezzlement trial.
After Liang was given his final sentence of 14 months in jail in January 2004, Chen returned NT$3 million to him, but kept the rest.
To cultivate a close connection with the Presidential Office official, the ruling said Liang gave Chen NT$1 million in cash when they first met in 2002.
Later that year, he gave Chen NT$1.1 million when he attended the funeral of Chen's mother. Then in late 2002, he gave Chen NT$6 million to use for bribes.
Liang fled to China in 2004 after being found guilty of embezzling funds from the Overseas Chinese Bank. He returned to Taiwan on April 2 this year to accuse Chen of embezzling his money. Liang was arrested upon his arrival at the then CKS International Airport.
Liang used a sauna owner named Yang Chen-feng (
Chen was found not guilty of insider trading, the ruling said, for making a profit of almost NT$1.6 million in Chihkan Technology Co shares after he met the company's chairman.
Chen will be able to appeal his conviction and sentence to the Taiwan High Court.
He faces even more legal woes because he has also been indicted for his alleged involvement in the corruption scandal surrounding the Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about 1,900 as
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS