The Supreme Prosecutors Office announced yesterday that it would not indict former Judicial Yuan president Weng Yueh-sheng (
Chen Yun-nan (
Weng received NT$12,619,000 (US$390,000) in monthly discretionary funds between February 1999 and August last year but prosecutors had determined he had not misused it, Chen said.
Prosecutors who examined the receipts Weng submitted for funds requiring accounting oversight determined that Weng had not used personal receipts to seek reimbursement, Chen said.
The Judicial Yuan said yesterday that it respected the investigation's findings.
"Prosecutors are still probing 213 officials' use of their special affairs funds," Chen said.
The investigations followed the high-profile probe into President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) last year over the alleged misuse of the "state affairs fund."
Wu was indicted last November for misappropriating money from a secret government fund set aside for diplomatic missions or initiatives. She has pleaded innocent.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was indicted in February on charges of misusing his Taipei mayoral special allowance fund but was found not guilty in his first trial.
Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), National Security Council Secretary-General Mark Chen (陳唐山) and Democratic Progressive Party Chairman Yu Shyi-kun have also been indicted, but their cases have not come to trial.
POLAM KOPITIAM CASE: Of the two people still in hospital, one has undergone a liver transplant and is improving, while the other is being evaluated for a liver transplant A fourth person has died from bongkrek acid poisoning linked to the Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Sogo Xinyi A13 Department Store, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday, as two other people remain seriously ill in hospital. The first death was reported on March 24. The man had been 39 years old and had eaten at the restaurant on March 22. As more cases of suspected food poisoning involving people who had eaten at the restaurant were reported by hospitals on March 26, the ministry and the Taipei Department of Health launched an investigation. The Food and
A fourth person has died in a food poisoning outbreak linked to the Xinyi (信義) branch of Malaysian restaurant chain Polam Kopitiam (寶林茶室) in Taipei, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) said on Monday. It was the second fatality in three days, after another was announced on Saturday. The 40-year-old woman experienced multiple organ failure in the early hours on Monday, and the family decided not to undergo emergency resuscitation, Wang said. She initially showed signs of improvement after seeking medical treatment for nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, but her condition worsened due to an infection, he said. Two others who
MEDICAL: The bills would also upgrade the status of the Ethical Guidelines Governing the Research of Human Embryos and Embryonic Stem Cell Research to law The Executive Yuan yesterday approved two bills to govern regenerative medicine that aim to boost development of the field. Taiwan would reach an important milestone in regenerative medicine development with passage of the regenerative medicine act and the regenerative medicine preparations ordinance, which would allow studies to proceed and treatments to be developed, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) told reporters at a news conference after a Cabinet meeting. Regenerative treatments have been used for several conditions, including cancer — by regenerating blood cells — and restoring joint function in soft tissue, Wang said. The draft legislation requires regenerative treatments
The long-awaited Taichung aquarium is expected to open next year after more than a decade of development. The building in Cingshui District (清水) is to feature a large ocean aquarium on the first floor, coral display area on the second floor, a jellyfish tank and Dajia River (大甲溪) basin display on the third, a river estuary display and restaurant on the fourth, and a cafe and garden on the fifth. As it is near Wuci Fishing Port (梧棲漁港), many are expecting the opening of the aquarium to bring more tourism to the harbor. Speaking at the city council on Monday, Taichung City Councilor