Prosecutors and officials from the Ministry of Justice’s Investigation Bureau officials yesterday raided dozens of locations and detained 11 suspects for questioning as part of a corruption probe into the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) shipbuilding program.
Several coast guard officials are alleged to have colluded with contractors in a NT$10 billion (US$301.4 million at current exchange rates) project to build eight patrol boats.
Two of the ships have already been built by Kaohsiung-based Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Corp (中信造船集團) and commissioned into service, the Tainan CG126 (台南艦) in 2011 and the Xinbei CG127 (新北艦).
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
However, it has been alleged that the ships’ decks are not strong enough to support helicopters landings, contrary to contract specifications calling for the vessels to have helipads.
CGA offices in Taipei, New Taipei City and Kaohsiung were searched, including the CGA Maritime Patrol Directorate-General in New Taipei’s Tamsui District (淡水), as well as private residences.
Those detained include Jong Shyn officials; Huang Kan-fu (黃淦甫), a former deputy director of the Maritime Patrol Directorate-General; Wu Juei-hsiang (吳瑞祥), a former head of the CGA’s Supervision and Construction division; and Huang Han-sung (黃漢松), a former head of the CGA’s Shipping Services Office.
The two Huangs and Wu were the key officials in charge of Tainan CG126’s, the first of the boats to be contracted to the Kaohsiung shipbuilder.
The project to replace the CGA’s older vessels and strengthen its maritime patrol force began in 2007, with Jong Shyn securing a contract to build the 2,000-tonne ships, which were to have helipads capable of handling AS-365N Dauphin helicopters and UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters that are part of the nation’s search-and-rescue fleet.
However, the crews of the Tainan CG126 and Xinbei CG127 discovered that the decks could not accommodate the helicopters.
The CGA is suspected of covering up the problem until President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) inquired about the helipads, after which measures were taken to remedy the issue.
Investigators said the Ministry of the Interior division responsible for civilian search-and-rescue missions only contacted the CGA to request approval licenses and safety inspections of the helipads after the two ships were commissioned and had begun their service, contrary to standard procedure.
The suspects were taken for questioning at the Taipei Shilin Prosecutors’ Office. Prosecutors said they could be charged with violating the Anti-Corruption Act (貪汙治罪條例) and the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法).
Responding to allegations of shoddy construction of the two boats, Jong Shyn employees said the original design of the boats had no helipad and that it was added later by the CGA.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique