The Ministry of National Defense yesterday rebutted claims made by opposition lawmakers that bribery was involved in the promotion of military officials.
Lieutenant general Li Ching-kuo (
He said that the ministry had forwarded details of the allegations to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office. The subsequent investigation would help to clarify the matter, he said.
The official made the remarks in response to accusations from People First Party (PFP) lawmakers, who yesterday accused former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Chen Che-nan (陳哲男) of asking for bribes from high-ranking military personnel.
"[Chen] had been [asking for bribes from high-ranking military personnel] for a while. What he did was a humiliation to the military and I would encourage investigators to figure out what happened," said PFP Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (
Citing a report in the Chinese-language newspaper, the United Daily News, Chang named a vice admiral who was approached by Chen but ended up retiring early after the vice admiral refused Chen's "request."
According to Chang, the vice admiral was former commander Ko Cheng-sheng (
Chang said that in March 2003, Chen approached Ko and asked him to "donate" NT$8 million which would guarantee that he gain promotion to the position of commander-in-chief of the navy afterwards.
Ko refused the offer and decided to retire on June 1, 2003, Chang said.
Chang said that Chen then approached Ko again and made him another offer -- that Ko would pay NT$2.5 million in return for becoming the deputy director of the nation's Coast Guard Administration.
But this "proposal" was again rejected by Ko, Chang said, claiming that Ko himself had told him of the offers.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang
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