Self-acclaimed "scandal buster" Lin Ruey-tu yesterday again took aim at DPP presidential candidate Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), reiterating his allegations that the former Taipei mayor and a Malaysian businessman had improper financial dealings related to the Taipei City lottery.
Lin also said he would publish additional documents showing that Chen has visited Malaysia and Singapore many times since 1996, more trips than Chen has admitted to taking.
"The Kuala Lumpur-based Berjaya Group (成功集團) will deliver the original letters and they will prove that Chen promised to give back NT$200 million to make up for their losses in the lottery pro-ject," Lin said.
Lin stressed that he would let the judiciary authenticate Chen's signature on the letters. He also said that he would soon make public more documents showing how Chen had pushed for a public welfare lottery in meetings of the Taipei City government.
A spokesman at Chen's campaign headquarters said that Lin could not offer any evidence, except some obviously fake letters, to prove Chen had contacts with the Malaysian businessman and therefore Lin had to quickly find something else to cover his mistakes. This is why he had brought up the issue of Chen's entry and exit records.
Meanwhile, Chen's cousins, Chen Tien-fu (陳天福) and Chen Chin-tsai (陳進財), told police yesterday that they did in fact accept NT$6 million from Tan Kok-ping (陳國平), the executive director of the Berjaya Group (成功集團) for being consulting on the lottery project.
"The Taipei City Council rejected the lottery project and we returned the money right after that," said Chen Tien-fu.
"This whole lottery business never had anything to do with Chen Shui-bian," Chen Tien-fu said. "Mayor Chen never authorized us to contact anyone to inquire about operating a lottery, and we did not sign the mayor's name on any letters."
On Tuesday Lin alleged that the Berjaya Group was interested in operating a lottery in Taipei City and since 1996 has had a number of contacts with Chen's two cousins and one of his close aides.
Lin also offered copies of three letters which he said were from Chen Shui-bian to Tan dating from between December 1997 and June 1999, which said Chen Shui-bian promised to return the NT$200 million to the Malaysian business group to make up for the losses it incurred after the city lottery plan was abandoned.
DPP headquarters and Chen's lawyer filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Lin, saying that the lawmaker could be indicted under the law regulating elections and recalls for using malicious accusations to attempt to interfere with Chen's presidential bid.
Lin gave new details to reporters yesterday, including accusations that Chen Shui-bian had flown to Malaysia twice and Singapore twice within a six-month period between September 1996 and April 1997. Lin also said one of Chen's cousins, Chen Chin-tsai, received NT$44.2 million from the Malaysian business group.
"These records from the Bureau of Immigration (入出境管理局) can prove Chen was lying because he said that he only visited Singapore four times -- one time each year of his term as mayor," Lin said.
DPP presidential campaign headquarters spokesman Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) said yesterday that Lin's documents were like balloons that would easily burst with a single pin-prick.
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