Some 70 elected local officials from the borough warden level up have been indicted since June in the government's war against "black gold," according to newly released statistics from the Ministry of Justice.
Meanwhile, prosecutors yesterday continued to question possible suspects and conduct raids in connection with several cases.
The chief of Lukang township (鹿港), Changhua County, was questioned about suspected bid-rigging in a local park construction project, but they later released him on NT$1 million bail.
In a separate case concerning an embankment construction project, prosecutors raided the town hall of Tacheng township (大城), Changhua County, and took some officials in for questioning. As of press time no detention or releases had been reported.
In Taichung County, prosecutors searched the home of the Shalu (
Among the approximately 70 people already under indictiment are one county commissioner, one city mayor, seven township chiefs, seven borough wardens and village chiefs, two legislators, 24 county councilors and 26 township councilors.
The county commissioner is Fu Hsueh-peng (
George Chang (張燦鍙), DPP mayor of Tainan, was indicted for allegedly covering up the corrupt practices of his subordinates. The prosecution requested that he be sentenced to 12 years in jail.
Two of the indicted legislators are the KMT's You Hwai-yin (
Last Friday, Changhua District Prosecutors' Office indicted 215 people involved in vote-buying for KMT candidates in the March presidential election, including Yuanlin township (
On the same day, Taitung County prosecutors indicted 19 current and 22 former county councilors, including the incumbent speaker and vice speaker, on corruption charges. Taitung County Council has a total of 29 councilors.
Last month, the township chief and all 13 councilors of Huwei township (
Nantou County Commissioner Peng Pai-hsien (
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
WARNING: People in coastal areas need to beware of heavy swells and strong winds, and those in mountainous areas should brace for heavy rain, the CWA said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday issued sea and land warnings for Typhoon Ragasa, forecasting that it would continue to intensify and affect the nation the most today and tomorrow. People in Hualien and Taitung counties, and mountainous areas in Yilan and Pingtung counties, should brace for damage caused by extremely heavy rain brought by the typhoon’s outer rim, as it was upgraded to a super typhoon yesterday morning, the CWA said. As of 5:30pm yesterday, the storm’s center was about 630km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving northwest at 21kph, and its maximum wind speed had reached
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said that it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Ragasa this morning and a land warning at night as it approached Taiwan. Ragasa intensified from a tropical storm into a typhoon at 8am yesterday, the CWA said, adding that at 2pm, it was about 1,110km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip. The typhoon was moving northwest at 13kph, with sustained winds of up to 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA Web site showed. Forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said that Ragasa was projected to strengthen as it neared the Bashi Channel, with its 200km
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENTS: Hualien and Taitung counties declared today a typhoon day, while schools and offices in parts of Kaohsiung and Pingtung counties are also to close Typhoon Ragasa was forecast to hit its peak strength and come closest to Taiwan from yesterday afternoon through today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Taiwan proper could be out of the typhoon’s radius by midday and the sea warning might be lifted tonight, it added. CWA senior weather specialist Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said that Ragasa’s radius had reached the Hengchun Peninsula by 11am yesterday and was expected to hit Taitung County and Kaohsiung by yesterday evening. Ragasa was forecast to move to Taiwan’s southern offshore areas last night and to its southwestern offshore areas early today, she added. As of 8pm last night,
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