Taipei Chief Prosecutor Hsueh Wei-ping (薛維平) yesterday wanted to detain former China Development Holding Corp chairman Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, but the Taipei District Court decided to let Liu go because of a lack of evidence.
Liu, who is president of the Taiwan Research Institute, was first interrogated by special agents from the Ministry of Justice's Bureau of Investigation at around 9:30am on Friday. At about 4pm, special agents transferred him to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for another interrogation by Hsueh.
PHOTO: LUO PEI-DE, LIBERTY TIMES
By about midnight, Hsueh believed that there was a good chance that Liu would destroy pieces of evidence or exchange information with crucial witnesses and filed a detention request.
The Taipei District Court began to review Hsueh's detention request at around 4am yesterday but finally decided to release Liu without bail at 8:20am.
As he was walking out of the court building, Liu said that he had an agreement with the judges that he would not comment on the case in public.
"I am quite tired now. Please understand that I am not supposed to comment on the case outside the courtroom. I gave the judges my word," Liu said.
Hsueh is currently investigating the disappearance in 1994 of US$4.5 million from a secret fund of US$10.58 million to secure Taiwan's diplomatic relationship with South Africa.
According to his investigation, the National Security Bureau paid the amount to South Africa to secure the diplomatic relationship between two countries on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in May 1994.
On April 4, 1999, the ministry returned a total of US$10.7 million, including interest, to the bureau. The bureau's former chief accountant, Hsu Ping-chiang (
Liu Kuan-chun is wanted for allegedly embezzling more than NT$192 million from the total amount. According to the Bureau of Investigation, Liu left Taiwan on Sept. 3, 2000 and went to Shanghai. He surfaced in Bangkok in January last year and from there went to North America. Sources say that he is now in Canada.
Liu Tai-ying allegedly wired the money to Ruentex Corp Chairman Yin Yen-liang's (尹衍樑) bank accounts in the US and Singapore. Upon receiving the money, Yin allegedly wired it to one of the Ruentex Corp's bank accounts in Taiwan. Then, he "donated" US$3 million of it to the Taiwan Research Institute. However, prosecutors have not yet discovered the whereabouts of the missing US$4.5 million.
Hsu has been detained since July 18. In addition, prosecutors have also interrogated Yin, then-minister of foreign affairs Jason Hu (胡志強) and many other witnesses. According to Hsu's statement, he insisted that he acted on direct orders from former National Security Bureau secretary-general Yin Tsung-wen (殷宗文). The initial order allegedly came directly from former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝).
Yin Tsung-wen died of adenocarcinoma, a kind of lung cancer, on March 28 this year.
As a result, whether Lee was involved in or knew of the crime is another mystery which prosecutors are trying to figure out.
Hsueh said that prosecutors may summon Lee if necessary.
GENSLER SURVEY: ‘Economic infrastructure is not enough. A city needs to inspire pride, offer moments of joy and foster a sense of belonging,’ the company said Taipei was named the city with the “highest staying power” in the world by US-based design and architecture firm Gensler. The Taiwanese capital earned the top spot among 65 cities across six continents with 64 percent of Taipei respondents in a survey of 33,000 people saying they wanted to stay in the city. Rounding out the top five were Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City (61 percent), Singapore (59 percent), Sydney (58 percent) and Berlin (51 percent). Sixth to 10th place went to Monterrey, Mexico; Munich, Germany; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Vancouver; and Seoul. Cities in the US were ranked separately, with Minneapolis first at
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
RSS