Former Tainan Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) deputy mayor Hsu Yang-ming (
"Hsu Yang-ming was found to have used 130 fraudulent receipts, worth more than NT$310,000 [US$9,375], to reimburse himself from his special allowance funds," Kuo Chen-ni (郭珍妮), a spokeswoman for the Tainan District Prosecutors' Office told a press conference yesterday.
She said Hsu Yang-ming was charged with corruption adding that Hsu Tain-tsair had not been found to have used any receipts fraudulently to reimburse funds from his special allowance funds.
Tainan prosecutors said they did not probe the Hsus' handling of monthly allowance funds that did not require accounting oversight because the pair took this in cash and it was impossible to probe whether that money had been spent on private or public matters.
Hsu Yang-ming (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) filed a suit against both Hsus last November, accusing them of using fraudulent receipts to seek reimbursements from their special allowance funds and depositing part of their allowances into their personal bank accounts.
Prosecutors also indicted Wang Hsiao-fang (
Prosecutors said Hsu Yang-ming also took nine receipts, worth more than NT$30,000, from his wife to reimburse funds but that she had no knowledge of this.
Prosecutor Eric Chen (陳瑞仁) told reporters yesterday that he had read legal documents relating to the Hsus and found no difference between the investigations into President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) handling of his special discretionary fund, that of former Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), and that of the Hsus.
He said in all cases, prosecutors did not probe officials handling of allowance funds not requiring accounting oversight if they took the funds in cash.
He said Ma was indicted for depositing these funds into his personal accounts, which prosecutors considered corrupt.
Hsu, however, accused the judiciary of applying double standards in its dealing with his special allowance case.
At a press conference at the legislature yesterday, Hsu said prosecutors discriminated against him by applying a rigid criterion in deciding which of his expenditures could be counted as official spending.
For example, he said, prosecutors regarded money spent on a gathering with reporters from Tainan during his stay in Kaohsiung as personal expenditure while this should be considered official expenditure.
"My gifts to civil groups in Taipei were also taken as personal expense while actually they were not," Hsu said, citing another example, while showing the press copies of the indictment.
Hsu said he also gave prosecutors lists of the people he had given gifts to but prosecutors did not question any of them.
"There would be no problem with me by the standards of Hou Kuan-jen (侯寬仁) [who indicted Ma on corruption charges last month]," Hsu said, referring to the judiciary's statement last month that Hou had tried to screen every receipt presented by Ma by a less stringent standard before indicting him.
He said that the amount of money he spent on official expenditure outweighed his special allowance and this proved that he had no intention of embezzling the allowance.
"I accidentally misreported some receipts for small amounts of money, but I explained the circumstances clearly to the prosecutors," he said, adding that he knew nothing about other problematic receipts presented by his secretary and staffers in the case.
"This is a political problem, not a judicial one," he said.
FUKUOKA SITUATION: Japanese media reported that the pathogen is expected to be identified by the summer, while the CDC downplayed the idea that it was hMPV A “mysterious cold-like illness” reported in Japan’s Fukuoka Prefecture does not seem to be a new disease, but Japanese authorities have been asked about the situation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The Fukuoka Prefectural Medical Association on Wednesday told a news conference that a “mystery cold” that has become a hot topic on social media is “highly likely to be caused by some kind of viral infection,” Japan’s KBC News reported. “Many people are experiencing symptoms starting with a sore throat, followed by a runny nose, phlegm and a severe cough,” KBC News reported, citing association officials. Health authorities are
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) arrived in Taiwan yesterday ahead of upcoming AI and technology events, saying he plans to meet with clients and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) during his visit. After landing at Taipei Songshan Airport, Huang posed for photos with fans and handed out Yakult drinks to reporters and supporters waiting at the scene, saying he has “a lot to do” during the trip. Asked about reports that Nvidia’s planned headquarters site in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park could break ground on May 27, Huang said that if the company holds an event, he would
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday expressed “shock and regret” over a statement issued by his wife without his consent, and rejected her assertion that his eldest sister, Ma Yi-nan (馬以南), would manage his medical care or act as his spokesperson amid an ongoing embezzlement probe into his foundation. Ma Ying-jeou in a statement said he was shocked by a statement by his wife, Chou Mei-ching (周美青), regarding his affairs. Ma Yi-nan “must not” be in charge of his healthcare and other personal affairs, nor can she be allowed to represent the Ma family, the former president said. He said he was also
RSS