Control Yuan wants tougher action over Lafayette scandal

Angered by the Ministry of National Defense's (MND) decision to punish only two middle-ranking officials over the Lafayette frigate scandal, the Control Yuan yesterday said that it is to propose the impeachment of more than 10 additional officers, including some of the navy's top brass.

The list of officers to be impeached is still under discussion and will have to be approved by a full meeting of the Control Yuan at the end of the month, but will include both retired and serving senior officers, according to Ku Den-mei (古登美), a Control Yuan member.

Director of the Ministry of National Defense's Bureau of Military Justice Liu Chin-an (劉錦安), navy Captain Chen Kuo-hsiang (陳國祥) and Major General Chen Liang-han (陳良瀚) are on the list, a Control Yuan member said on condition of anonymity.

The Control Yuan task force which investigated the scandal is angered by the ministry's failure to discipline anyone except two relatively unknown colonels.

The decision to propose impeachment was taken at a closed-door meeting yesterday to discuss follow-up moves in the case.

The Control Yuan released a 400-plus page investigation report on the scandal this March, in which it asked the MND to determine, on the basis of the report, which officials were responsible for irregularities surrounding the purchase of French-made frigates and the murder of navy Captain Yin Ching-feng (尹清楓) and to punish them accordingly.

The ministry sent the Control Yuan a list of those punished in mid-July. But the list consisted of just two colonels, who had received demerits for losing 29 copies of telegraphic transfers that were important evidence in the case.

"We are not satisfied. They must be joking," Ku said.

Chao Ron-yaw (趙榮耀), another member of the task force, said, "The two officials that the MND punished are too low in rank. I don't even remember who they were."

Ku said that the investigation report had listed detailed errors made by officials in the murder case and the scandal, but the MND, "has no capacity for self-investigation," which, he said, disappointed Control Yuan members.

Ku added, "Actually, the MND had punished these two before we censured the ministry this March. They apparently used the two to shift responsibility."

She also said, "We will not rule out the possibility of questioning the minister and vice ministers of the ministry because the result is unacceptable."

In March, the Control Yuan censured the defense ministry and navy headquarters for their "sloppily taken policy decision" to purchase the Lafayette frigates and gross negligence in their investigation into the Yin murder.

The murder remains a mystery because of destruction of evidence by the MND and the navy, according to the report.