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Investigation in Sung case turns up `irregular activity'

Police have found evidence of irregular activity in the handling of two National Security Council bank accounts which contain upwards of NT$1 million and involve Sung Wen (宋文), a former government official charged with bribery, the China Times Express reported yesterday.

Media reports yesterday revealed that while investigating accounts in Sung's name, authorities came across two suspect bank accounts, one called the "National Security Council Hua Hsiang Jung case" and the other "National Security Council Campus Stability Fund."

Sung had been the director of the Department of Student Military Training under the Ministry of Education before being indicted on corruption charges. The Taipei District Prosecutor's Office investigation into the matter is ongoing.

According to media reports, investigative authorities had initially suspected that the accounts had been attributed to the National Security Council as a cover for accepting bribe money in Sung's personal bank account. However, National Security Council official Hsu Chin-jen (徐欽仁) yesterday confirmed that the accounts belonged to the council, saying they were "confidential" and that it was not advisable for the investigation to continue. Reports said that both accounts had been created before the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) became the ruling party in 2000 and that a few million NT dollars were transferred into the account each year.

Investigative records also note that before the DPP administration, the work of national security officials had involved keeping track of political activities on school campuses and the political beliefs of educators. The findings have also raised eyebrows, as they come just two days after former Taipei District Prosecutor Kuo Yung-fa (郭永發) was relocated to head up the Ilan Prosecutor's Office. Kuo had previously been accused of purposely obscuring investigations into two corruption cases involving the government's purchase of electronic toll collection systems and railway turnstiles. Kuo has denied the allegations.
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