The nation’s top prosecutor said yesterday that his department has decided to take a lenient approach in the investigations of abuses of special allowance funds.
State Prosecutor-General Chen Tsung-ming (陳聰明) said he had convened a meeting of head prosecutors nationwide yesterday morning, and that high-level prosecutors concluded that unless they could prove without question that government officials spent special allowance funds for private matters and therefore committed corruption, they would not charge the officials.
Chen said the prosecutors would like to see the Legislative Yuan introduce a law detailing how special allowance funds should be used.
PHOTO: LIU HSIN-TE, TAIPEI TIMES
Such a law would help prosecutors during investigations of special allowance fund abuse and aid judges during hearings involving corruption, Chen said.
More than 6,500 government officials are currently facing investigations into their use of special allowance funds.
The high-level prosecutors yesterday agreed a standard procedure for prosecutors’ investigating alleged corruption involving special allowance funds.
The Ministry of Justice said it would take a flexible approach and would not ask officials to list all their expenditure details.
The MOJ said that the special allowance fund should be seen as a “substantial subsidy” (實質補貼) to officials, and so a lenient approach whould be taken.
The ministry said that in the past it has been a unwritten rule that officials have flexibility when spending their special allowance fund.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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