The Nantou District Court yesterday detained Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Hou Ho-shong (
Hou, 63, who was arrested on Tuesday, was questioned overnight after his office and home were searched by agents from the Bureau of Investigation.
He is suspected to have played a role in seven flood-control construction corruption cases.
The Nantou District Court yesterday approved the detention to enable further investigation.
"Hou is charged with influence peddling, which is a serious crime. The court decided to allow extended detention to avoid collaboration among suspects [involved in the same case]," prosecutor Wu Tso-yen (吳祚延) said.
A contractor was also detained after initial questioning while three others, including two government officials and a contractor, were released on bail, he said.
Following Hou's detention, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (
Ministry affairs under Hou's supervision will be temporarily distributed to two other vice economic ministers, Shih Yen-hsiang (
Meanwhile, the duties of Taiwan Water Corp vice president Yang Shui-yuan (
Yang and Chang are also suspected of involvement in the bid-rigging on the construction projects.
A series of high-profile corruption scandals have rocked the country recently.
President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) wife, Wu Shu-jen (
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential hopeful Ma Ying-jeou (
Additional reporting by Jessie Ho
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
RSS