A former judge and his son are suspected of shipping coal from North Korea to sell in Vietnam in contravention of UN sanctions on Pyongyang, the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said on Monday.
The office said in a statement that Chiang Kuo-hua (江國華), a former Taiwan High Court judge, and his son, Chiang Heng (江衡), chartered a cargo ship via a Chinese intermediary to transport 4 tonnes of anthracite coal from a port in North Korea to Vietnam some time between August and September last year.
In addition to the Chiangs, two other men are also implicated in the case, the office said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The four have been named as defendants and were accused of assisting terrorists and forging documents.
More than 70 prosecutors and police officers on Sunday raided the headquarters of a company founded by the Chiangs and the residences of the four defendants.
Three of the defendants and four witnesses were questioned.
Prosecutors claim that the Chiangs and the two others fabricated the origin of the coal they transported.
During the journey, the Global Positioning System on the cargo ship was turned off to prevent it from being tracked, prosecutors said, adding that the former judge was hospitalized after claiming to be ill and failed to visit the office for questioning.
The office has issued an arrest warrant for him.
After questioning Chiang Heng, prosecutors believe that he was involved in the case and have applied to a court to detain him to prevent him destroying evidence or colluding with the other defendants.
The two other defendants have been released on bail of NT$100,000 each, they said.
Earlier this month, a Taiwanese was accused of involvement in a separate case in which he allegedly chartered a Hong Kong-registered vessel to secretly sell oil to North Korea.
The man denies the accusations.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from