Warrant out for former Tuntex head

The Taipei District Court yesterday issued arrest warrants for the former president of Tuntex Group Chen Yu-hao (陳由豪) and his wife Lin Fu-mei (林富美) after they failed to turn up to the first hearing of their embezzlement trial.

The couple, in hiding in China since 1996, stands accused of stealing NT$800 million from group subsidiary Tunghua Development in 1995 and investing it in personal investments across the Taiwan Strait.

"They are required to attend the hearing because they are defendants. They actually do not have any choice," said Taipei District Court spokesperson Liu Shou-sung (劉壽嵩).

If police officers fail to arrest Chen and Lin within seven days starting yesterday, the couple will be classified as wanted.

The Tuntex Group is one of the country's largest conglomerates, incorporating department stores, property development and construction. Tunghua Development is a property development company.

The Tuntex Group experienced a financial crisis in 1995 and 1996, which many now attribute to the suspected theft by Chen and Lin.

The China Development Holding Corp Chairman Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英), who is also the head of the Taiwan Research Institute (台綜院) and the former unofficial treasurer of the KMT, provided financial assistance to the company. Chen was closely connected to the KMT, to which he was a major donor.

Su Chih-cheng (蘇志誠), the former deputy head of the institute -- succeeded in the post by former president Lee Teng-hui's (李登輝) daughter Annie Lee (李安妮) -- became president of the Tun Yun Corp (東雲公司), another subsidiary of the Tuntex Group, on Aug. 1, 2001. Su left the institute in May last year.

Both Su and Liu served as close aides to Lee during his presidency. Lee has been the institute's honorary president since the end of his presidency and works regularly in an office at the research center in Tamsui.

Taipei Prosecutor Kuo Yung-fa (郭永發) indicted Chen and Lin on March 13 on breach of trust and suggested sentences of two years and six months.

The second hearing of the case was scheduled to be held on April 25.