Taipei prosecutors yesterday put Ching Chi-ju (金紀玖), one of the brokers in the high-profile Papua New Guinea diplomacy scandal, on the wanted list and said he would remain on the list for 30 years.
“The suspect has repeatedly failed to show up for questioning,” Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said yesterday. “For this, we are issuing a warrant for the arrest of Ching Chi-ju and the effectiveness of the warrant will last 30 years.”
Ching was last seen in the US after allegedly making off with US$30 million, which was wired to a joint bank account set up for him and his associate, Wu Shih-tsai (吳思材), in Singapore in September 2006 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The money was supposed to be used in the establishment of diplomatic relations with Papua New Guinea.
The National Police Agency said it was informed by intelligence sources that Ching first fled to China, before going to Canada earlier this month. He was found on the US West Coast last week, they said.
Lin said the Taipei Prosecutors’ Office had sought help from the US for Ching’s apprehension and questioning.
Meanwhile, MOFA said yesterday that two officials would be posted to the Philippines and Malaysia as planned, despite their alleged involvement in the scandal.
Donald Lee (李傳通), former director-general of the Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, and Chang Chiang-sheng (張強生), a close aide of former MOFA minister James Huang (黃志芳), will assume their posts as representative to the Philippines and deputy representative to Malaysia, respectively, as planned, MOFA spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said.
Their transfers, although announced months ago, are especially sensitive as both Lee and Chang have been questioned by prosecutors about the diplomacy scandal.
In response to whether the postings should be delayed at such a sensitive time, Yeh said: “They will leave to assume their posts as planned, as they are not listed as defendants, and prosecutors have not objected to their deployment. They can fly back to assist with the investigation if needed. That will not be a problem.”
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
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
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
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
RSS