Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠) was yesterday found guilty of leaking confidential information in procurement cases that favored preferred bidders. However, she was found not guilty of taking bribes or abusing her position to benefit herself or others.
The Kaohsiung District Court sentenced the Democratic Progressive Party member to two-and-a-half years in prison — which can be converted to a fine — on 16 charges of leaking information to her younger sister about the county Environmental Protection Bureau’s procurement of services and garbage trucks.
Chang leaked secrets by having her sister, Chang Ying-chi (張瑛姬), appoint members of the selection committee handling reviews of the tenders for the sanitation services and equipment, the ruling said.
Photo: Lin Yi-chang, Taipei Times
Chang Ying-chi, who holds no official position in the county government, then solicited kickbacks from potential bidders, the court said.
Helen Chang was given a sentence of one year and eight months for giving a company information on the selection committee during the tender process for the second phase of the Dapumei Intelligent Industrial Park. This sentence cannot be commuted to a fine.
The court said that there was no evidence or defendants’ statements that the commissioner had abused her position to benefit herself or others, and NT$800,000 (US$24,433) that she took from businessman Cheng Yi-hsiung (鄭義雄) in the Dapumei case, which prosecutors had alleged was a bribe, had been a political donation as she had claimed.
Helen Chang, who first took office in December 2009, questioned the timing of the verdict, coming just one month before the Jan. 16 presidential and legislative elections. The ruling had been delayed twice before.
She said the firm that made the NT$800,000 donation did not take part in the bidding process for the park, so she should not be found guilty of leaking secrets to it.
Chang Ying-chi was sentenced 10 years on 19 charges involving the leak of confidential government information. The sentence cannot be commuted to a fine, and her illegal gains of NT$4.17 million were ordered confiscated.
However, she was found not guilty of taking bribes or of abusing her position.
The sisters, who were indicted in November 2012 along with 21 officials, middlemen and contractors, were accused of contacting companies interested in bidding for government contracts through businessman Yeh Ya-chiang (葉雅強) and Wu Ming-ching (吳銘圳), a former associate professor at the Open University of Kaohsiung who was a member of the committee to review procurement cases.
County official Chiu Feng-ming (邱豐銘), Yeh, Wu and five other defendants were sentenced to terms of four months to six years for leaking government secrets, but found not guilty on other charges.
Cheng was sentenced to six months in prison.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft