In indicted veteran psychiatrist at Taitung Hospital was released on bail of NT$30 million (US$980,000) on Monday after being held in custody for 14 months.
Chen Ming-jer (陳明哲), director of Taitung Hospital’s Department of Psychiatry, was indicted on charges of health insurance fraud, taking kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies, using false prescriptions to obtain restricted drugs from the national health insurance system to sell for profit, and violating the Physicians’ Code.
The Taitung District Court’s Public Prosecutors’ Office began to investigate Chen in April last year. As they delved deeper into the case, they found more irregularities relating to his practice.
Prosecutors went through the records of Chen’s 6,000 patients and alleged that he used more than 100 patients with no psychiatric problems to claim treatment fees from the national health insurance system.
The prosecutors also alleged that Chen took at least NT$60 million in kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies, including NT$19 million in gold bullion. The money was seized as evidence.
He is also alleged to have used fake prescriptions to obtain Stimin and Eszopiclone — two restricted drugs used to treat insomnia — and sell them for profit.
The prosecutors’ office is recommending that the court sentence him to 30 years in prison.
In April this year, the district court set bail at NT$30 million for his release, but his family was unable to put up the sum.
Last Friday, the court again agreed to release him on bail of the same amount, but this time his family paid the money.
In addition to prohibiting Chen from leaving the country, the court requires him to report to the police office in his district every Monday between 7pm and 9pm. He has been warned not to intimidate witnesses in his case or to cause them physical or financial harm.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS