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Generals retire amid unproven scandal claims

Allegations of embezzlement and sex scandals have led four major generals to take early retirement in the last six months, defense officials said yesterday.

Three of the generals were with the armed forces reserve command, while the other was with the political warfare system.

In official parlance, the four chose to retire early. But in private, they were known to have been forced to leave after serioius allegations of misconduct ranging from embezzlement to extramarital affairs.

Investigations by the military, however, did not produce any solid evidence to sustain the allegations. The four generals were thus able to retire and receive their retirement pensions.

A senior defense official said the three generals with the reserve command were accused, in anonymous letters sent to the command, of pocketing public funds.

"Investigations did not find them guilty of the charges. Nevertheless, the three generals still chose to retire early. They were very angry about the false charges levelled against them," the official said.

Another major general, with the political warfare system, had a similar experience that cut short his military career.

The general, whose story was reported in a Chinese-language newspaper yesterday, was accused of misconduct involving money and extramarital affairs.

The general, whose surname is Hsiao, claimed he was innocent in an interview published in the paper.

He said he chose to retire early not because he had done anything wrong, but because political warfare system chief General Chen Pan-chih (陳邦治) refused to see him after the surfacing of allegations against him.

A defense official close to Chen said that Chen's refusal to see Hsiao is an indication of his personal understanding of the allegations against the officer.

"Military officials of their rank do not need to speak only using words. A suggestive gesture is enough to tell them everything," the official said.

The resignations have led to speculation about why the accused chose to quit, if they were as innocent as they claimed to be.

The Ministry of National Defense's spokesman's office maintained its usual "no comment" attitude, saying it has no knowledge any of the cases being investigated.

An official with the political warfare system said according to their customs, a military official does not need to leave the service even if he has been accused of certain misconduct.

"As long as investigations clear you of the charges, you do not need to leave. If you were found to have committed any misconduct, you should not be able to leave without due punishment such as a jail term or loss of your retirement pension," the official said.

Several years ago, a major general got kicked out of the service without pension after he was found to have taken money from a soldier.
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