Kickback-for-contracts scandal assaults military

The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (中山科學研究院), the main weapons systems research and development arm of the Ministry of National Defense (國防部), is at the center of the latest kickbacks-for-contracts scandal.

So far three civilian employees at the institute as well as manufacturers have reportedly been summoned for questioning in connection with the sensational scandal, which involves the purchase of nearly NT$100 million worth of parts for the Hsiungfeng-II anti-ship missiles (雄風二型反鑑飛彈).

Prosecutor Tan Cheng-hsiang (覃正祥) of the High Court Prosecutors' Office (高檢署) Black Gold Investigation Center (查緝黑金行動中心) yesterday morning ordered the Taipei and Taoyuan district prosecutors' offices to issue more than 10 search warrants.

Leading a multi-pronged team that linked the Taipei Bureau of Investigation (台北市調查處), the Northern Mobile Unit (北部機動組), and the Military Court Prosecutor General's Office (軍事法院檢察署), the Black Gold Investigation Center then proceeded to conduct a large-scale, early-morning search that included the institute and 10 other locations, including businesses in Taichung, Panchiao, Shilin and Taipei City.

According to sources, the defense ministry learned of the kickback scandal as early as last month.

Following this, a prosecutor from the Military Court Prosecutor General's Office last week conducted an investigation at the institute, sending the collected evidence and a report of its findings to the investigation center.

A subsequent search directed by the center revealed that, in approximately 100 transactions made during the period 1999 to 2000, the institute's staff responsible for purchasing parts from civilian suppliers for R&D purposes skimmed about 20 percent off of the total amount, a figure which in the end totalled at least NT$20 million.

Once in possession of this material evidence, the investigation center immediately informed the defense ministry's Judge Advocate's Bureau (國防部軍法局), and proceeded to issue search warrants and summonses for questioning.