The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday indicted former Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar) chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁) and former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Hong Chi-chang (洪奇昌) on a charge of breach of trust, saying that Wu abused his power to sell Taisugar land cheaply to Chunlung Co after being lobbied by Hong.
Pan Chung-hao (潘忠豪) of Chunlung, a long-time supporter of Hong, rented land from Taisugar in Taichung and Changhua counties and in Taichung City. The indictment said Chunlung expressed its wish to buy the land in 2003 and Hong lobbied Wu to approve the sale.
Taisugar staff said the deal violated regulations, but Wu was said to have overruled objections and told staff to approve the sale.
Following Wu’s instructions, Taisugar estimated the land’s market value was around NT$780 million (US$23.7 million), but because that was lower than the Assessed Present Value, it was suggested that the sales price should be set at NT$870 million. The land evaluation group at Taisugar’s Yuemei plant later suggested a value of around NT$600 million, the indictment said.
Wu requested that the case not be reviewed by the company’s land resource and utilization committee as was normal practice, but submitted it directly to the board, the indictment said, adding that Wu, using expected annual losses of NT$700 million to NT$800 million as an excuse, said it was necessary to complete the sale before the end of the year and set the price at NT$623.87 million.
The company bought the land for NT$626.88 million. When land increment tax was deducted, Taisugar earned NT$460 million on the deal, said the indictment.
The indictment said that although Wu and Hong have both contributed to Taiwan’s democracy, they did not follow the law and caused Taisugar to incur losses. Prosecutors suggested the court should issue them with heavy sentences.
Wu, who currently serves as DPP secretary-general, said yesterday through a spokesperson that he has no monetary relationship with Chunlung.
Starbucks Taiwan’s decision to charge for drink customization, which had been free, has sparked consumer backlash, highlighting the challenge of raising prices without making customers feel they are losing value, experts said. Since Oct. 12, customers who order drinks with less or no ice and ask to have the volume topped up with milk or other liquid have been charged an additional NT$15. Topping off drinks without ice was previously free, and disgruntled customers posted photos on social media showing that iced drinks ordered without ice were only half full if the extra NT$15 was not paid. The posts drew tens of thousands
EXPLANATION: Tsai said he attended events featuring various interviewees to observe them firsthand as part of his interview research Television host Kevin Tsai (蔡康永) last night broke his silence over a controversy surrounding his appearance at a campaign event for Democratic Progressive Party Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋), saying he had never supported Taiwan independence. “I have always hoped for friendly cross-strait relations. I have never supported Taiwan independence,” Tsai wrote in a post on the Chinese social media platform Sina Weibo. Tsai, who has hosted television shows in China, attended the opening of Shen’s campaign headquarters on Oct. 4, drawing criticism from Chinese social media users and prompting some Chinese companies to distance themselves from him. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office
SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK: The Chinese military would most likely focus on rebuilding its organization and leadership in the next few years, experts said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) military purge has reduced the risks of a planned war against Taiwan, yet increased the danger of a conflict sparked by a miscalculation or accident, Taiwanese experts said yesterday. They made the comments at a seminar on the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Central Committee held by the research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corp (STA) in Taipei. The wholesale sacking of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and managers of the aerospace and defense industry is sure to set back Xi’s timetable to prepare the PLA to launch an invasion of Taiwan
The husband of a Taiwanese woman stabbed to death at a hotel in Japan has been detained on suspicion of entering into a sham marriage and taking out high-value insurance policies in her name, Tainan prosecutors said today. A woman surnamed Ching (井), 38, was killed on Monday last week at a tourist hotel in Fujikawaguchiko, Japan. A Taiwanese woman surnamed Yang (楊) was arrested by Japanese police on suspicion of murder, Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office deputy chief prosecutor Wang Sheng-hao (王聖豪) said. Investigators suspect that Ching's new husband, surnamed Lee (李), 29, arranged a sham marriage, encouraged her to travel to Japan
RSS