Taipei prosecutors yesterday indicted an official of the Ministry of Transportation and Com-munications (MOTC) and a businessman for allegedly offering and taking bribes in the scandal involving the ministry's electronic toll collection (ETC) system.
"The secretary to former MOTC minister Lin Ling-san (林陵三), Soong Nai-wu (宋乃午), is suspected of accepting more than NT$700,000 (US$21,590) in bribes and of leaking the ministry's secret documents to the contractor, Far Eastern [Electronic Toll Collection Co], before the ETC bidding took place," said Taipei Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Pang-liang (林邦樑) yesterday.
Lin said that as Soong's conduct has seriously affected the bidding and construction of the nation's highway ETC system, prosecutors have asked the Taipei District Court for a sentence of 12 years for Soong.
Soong currently serves as the secretary-general of the MOTC's Directorate General of Highways.
Lin added that the controversy surrounding the ETC system is a result of Soong's conspiracy with the ETC contractors.
Former Chingyeh Co assistant manager Tsai Chin-hung (
Lin added that Soong is suspected of leaking the names of committee members in charge of the ETC bidding system.
Prosecutors are still investigating whether committee members might also be involved in the bid-rigging scandal.
According to Lin, Tsai allegedly offered more than NT$16 million to help the contractor, Far Eastern, win the bid. Prosecutors are still investigating whether Lin Ling-san, other ministry officials and any lawmakers had accepted bribes were otherwise involved in the ETC scandal.
Chinese-language newspaper reports said that at least two legislators took more than NT$10 million in bribes from contractors for their "help" in winning the bid. Lin did not comment on the reports.
Last month Soong appeared at the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office, carrying a knife with him and swearing that he would commit suicide if he were convicted of corruption.
Speaking to reporters yesterday, Soong insisted on his innocence.
Meanwhile, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) yesterday said that the ETC system must be implemented regardless of what has happened. Motorists' legal rights must be protected and any alleged scandals or bribes must be investigated, he said.
"These are the three principles that we will adhere to," Su said in remarks on the legislative floor yesterday in response to questions from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌).
Minister of Transportation and Communications Kuo Yao-chi (
"If that is the case, we will need time to review and reconsider the contract," she said.
Su said he has no intention of relieving Kuo from her post and asked the public to support and encourage her.
"She has been through a lot of trouble ever since she took over the office [as MOTC minister]. However, she is not the cause of all these troubles and should not therefore have to shoulder the blame," Su said.
"We should support and encourage her to keep her moving forward," he said.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan