Taipei prosecutors last night released Cosmos Bank founder and former chairman Hsu Sheng-fa (許勝發), his son, former vice chairman Hsu Sen-rong (許顯榮), and daughter, Hsu Juan-juan (許娟娟), on bail after questioning them over their alleged involvement in an embezzlement case.
Taipei District Prosecutors' Office spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said five individuals were summoned yesterday: Hsu Sheng-fa, Hsu Sen-rong, Hsu Juan-juan, Cosmos Bank official Shen Ming-ching (沈明津) and former inspector of Cosmos Bank Charles Chen (陳致遠).
The five were questioned by agents from the Ministry of Justice's Investigation Bureau in the morning at one of the bureau's offices, and in the afternoon they were moved to the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office for further interviews by prosecutors.
Hsu Sheng-fa currently is the chairman of Auto 21. Prosecutors believe that between 2001 and 2006, the Hsus used more than 10 Auto 21 subsidiaries to apply for loans from the bank, and that under their direction the bank illegally granted the loans, believed to be valued at about NT$800 million (US$24.7 million).
Between 2004 and 2005, the pair allegedly used several plots of land as collateral for loans of more than NT$1.8 billion from the bank, which granted the loans despite the fact that the real value of the land was much lower than indicated, prosecutors said.
In addition, in 2004 the Hsus allegedly sold NT$15 billion in non-performing loans to Asset Management Company, a subsidiary of Auto 21, for NT$1 billion -- far less than the market price, prosecutors said, adding that the company had only paid the bank NT$30 million.
Hsu Sheng-fa was released on NT$35 million bail and Hsu Sen-rong on NT$20 million bail, while Hsu Juan-juan was released on NT$15 million bail.
Chen, who was investigated as a witness, was released without bail after questioning.
Additional reporting by CNA
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do