A former Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MOJIB) officer who fled the country in June this year was repatriated from Malaysia yesterday.
Ou Tsung-jung (歐宗融), formerly an investigator with the MOJIB Taipei Office, was indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office on charges of corruption, embezzlement and theft in late 2001 on suspicion of having stolen 34 antiques or artifacts owned by former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wu Tse-yuan (伍澤元).
Wu was indicted in 1996 on charges of corruption related to two graft cases involving the building of two water processing plants in Taipei County.
Ou had been one of the MOJIB agent's investigating Wu's involvement in the alleged crimes.
In November 1996, the investigators searched Wu's residence and removed 77 antiques, bronzes, ivory carvings and other artifacts as evidence.
In March 2001, after his indictment, Wu demanded the return of all his property.
The MOJIB Taipei Office checked the items and found that 34 were missing.
Ou's colleagues than searched his residence and discovered the missing items.
They also discovered checks and IOUs is suspected of having embezzled from other cases he had handled.
After he was given a prison term of five years and four months for graft, embezzlement and theft in late 2001, Ou appealed. Judges from the Supreme Court upheld the sentence.
Ou again appealed, and in June this year the National Police Agency was informed that Ou had fled the country, together with his family, for Malaysia using passports from Belize.
The National Police Agency then informed the Malaysian police, who in turn apprehended Ou on Oct. 1 on an expired visa.
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