Officials from Taichung County's Chenlan Temple (鎮瀾宮), whose followers worship the sea goddess Matsu (媽祖), yesterday fired back at rising public speculation over the temple's alleged corrupt affairs.
The temple's public announcement of its innocence comes in the wake of last week's search of the temple by prosecutors from the Black Gold Investigation Center (
A search was launched last week into allegations that the temple was making illegal profits using public land and misappropriating contributions from followers of Matsu.
Chenlan Temple and its vice board chairman Cheng Ming-kun (鄭銘坤) yesterday issued statements proclaiming their innocence.
In a four point statement the temple denied speculation that Cheng was told by a Ministry of Justice official about the prosecutors' investigation in advance of the raid on the temple, which took place early last Thursday morning, so that he was able to flee from the country before the raid.
"Vice Chairman Cheng went abroad on the afternoon of Aug. 2 [last Wednesday] rather than on Aug. 3. He was not told anything by anyone," the statement said. Prosecutors in charge of the case were unavailable for comment.
A legislator told the Minister of Justice Chen Ding-nan (
Cheng's brother said Cheng is in China at the moment.
The administrators of the temple and Cheng, in a message communicated through the temple, issued statements yesterday, whose content was basically the same.
The temple's statement also denied charges that it had leased booths to retailers on government-owned land outside the temple for profit.
"The booths were designed in a classical style to enhance the beauty of the local environment and to benefit the community," the statement said.
"Media reports said that Vice Chairman Cheng had stolen documents and gold bars from the temple's office in the early hours of Aug. 3. Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that Cheng had already left on a Thai Airways flight -- there are records that can attest to this fact. Besides, the office was under the watch of a security firm and Cheng did not have the security card nor key to enter the office. There are also records about any entrances into the office during this period of time," it added.
The statement also said that all the gold medals and gold bars donated by the followers are entrusted to the safekeeping of the Chang Hwa Bank's (
"Whether they have been taken is a matter that the prosecutors will be able to examine," it said.
The statement also said that "every single donation has been clearly recorded in the books. There is only one account book, and that is not missing."
The legislator referred to above, whose identity has still not been disclosed, had told a prosecutor that some people had witnessed Cheng take documents and valuables away from the temple's office.
Cheng in his statement called on the legislator to reveal himself and take responsibility for what he had told the prosecutor. "I do not rule out filing a lawsuit [against the legislator and the media] to protect the reputation of the temple," he said.
But he did not say when he would he come back to Taiwan after his "private tour."
The chairman of the temple's board and Speaker of the Taichung County Council, Yen Ching-piao (顏清標), also went to China on the day of the raid. He had also denied that his trip had anything to do with the prosecutors' investigation.
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