MRT probe eyes Kaohsiung official

The fallout from the Aug. 21 Thai laborers' riot continued yesterday as Kaohsiung prosecutors summoned Fan Lai-chin (方來進), director of Kaohsiung City Government's Bureau of Labor Affairs, for questioning about his alleged role in a false document submitted to the national Council of Labor Affairs (CLA). Two other officials from the bureau were released on bail.

"Prosecutors are probing whether Fan should be held responsible for a forged document related to Kaohsiung City's mass rapid transit [MRT] company," Kaohsiung Prosecutor's Office spokesman Chung Chung-hsiao (鍾忠孝) said.

The questioning was still underway as of press time yesterday.

According to prosecutors, the document informed the national authorities that an investigation showed that the MRT construction project had a sufficient and suitable workforce, when in fact no investigation had taken place.

Prosecutors are investigating whether the MRT firm and the bureau dismissed domestic laborers so that they could hire more foreign workers, and then attempted to cover their tracks with the false document.

Last April the MRT firm asked the bureau to help recruit domestic labors as construction workers for the project. The bureau recruited 200 out of more than 4,000 employees working on the job, Chung said.

The CLA then received letters saying that MRT workers were being overworked. The council asked the bureau to evaluate whether the MRT needed to hire more domestic workers.

According to Chung, prosecutors have discovered that the bureau did not investigate the matter as the CLA requested, but instead sent a document to the council saying that the workers they had were sufficient.

Because the MRT firm hired a brokerage agency to get foreign workers, prosecutors are probing why it picked the particular brokerage firm, where the brokerage fees came from and where they went.

Meanwhile, a report by Central News Agency (CNA) cited sources as saying that police have asked the Kaohsiung Prosecutor's Office to determine whether 17 Thai workers should be indicted for their roles in the Aug. 21 riot at a dormitory for foreign laborers.

Kaohsiung County police said they have completed probes into the riot and discovered that 17 Thais working for the Kaohsiung MRT project should be held responsible for either obstructing the performance of public duties, endangering public safety or theft.

Six of the 17 alleged "masterminds" went into hiding on Sept. 30, and police say they have launched a manhunt.

One of the accused, identified as Mueangjan Phon, allegedly stole about 600,000 baht (US$1,460) and NT$750,000 (US$22,600) in cash from a safe at Huapan Co.'s office at the Thai laborers' living quarters in Kaohsiung after the Aug. 21 riot, police said.

Initial investigations showed that the riot occurred when several Thai workers returned to their dormitory with liquor and cigarettes, which were banned from the premises.

When they were prevented from entering the dormitory, they vented their anger by burning houses, breaking glass and throwing stones at the management, some of whom were beaten up.