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Presidential Office metes out punishment to staff

The Presidential Office yesterday meted out punishment to staffers accused of sexual harassment and gambling after a magazine exposed the scandals in its latest issue.

The staff member accused of sexually harassing his female colleagues received two demerits and was relieved of his position. Another male staffer charged with serving as a bookie and collecting bets from his colleagues received one demerit. Other staffers involved in the gambling received punishments depending on the severity of their misdeeds. Their supervisors will be held responsible for poor supervision,the Presidential Office said in a statement released last night.

The statement said that the disciplinary measures were approved by the Presidential Office's Performance Assessment Committee yesterday afternoon. In a bid to raise awareness of gender equality and mutual respect, the statement said that the office will arrange for experts to offer related courses.

The news came after the Chinese-language Next magazine reported in this week's edition that a male staffer surnamed Huang from the Presidential Office's Third Bureau had sexually harassed a female coworker.

The paper said that the bureau chief transferred Huang to a different position after the incident, but that Huang allegedly sexually harassed another coworker at his new position.

The magazine said that the bureau chief had not acted on the allegations, and that then Presidential Office Secretary-General Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) formed a task force to investigate the matter after learning that a staffer had complained to legislators.

The report said that Cho had talked to the people involved, but had not punished anyone. Cho later denied the allegation.

Regarding the gambling, Presidential Office Secretary-General Yeh Chu-lan (葉菊蘭) said on Wednesday that the office's internal affairs department was looking into the matter and would report within a week. Yeh said that any illegal acts would be dealt with according to the law.
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