The Presidential Office yesterday said it referred one of its senior staff members to its performance evaluation committee for disciplinary action after he flouted security rules.
Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) made the disclosure in response to media inquiries after a news report yesterday that a security gap had developed at the Presidential Office because of the arrogance of one of its division chiefs.
Local media reported that Shih Chao-hsien (施昭顯), who serves as a Presidential Office consultant and a supervisor of the division in charge of liaison with the legislature, refused to submit to a military police (MP) safety check as he drove into the office complex on July 22.
Shih was then involved in an altercation with the MP guarding the complex, Wang said, adding that the MP was injured and had a check-up at hospital before reporting the incident to his supervisors.
The Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper) reported yesterday that the matter had been settled behind closed doors to prevent further damage to the image of the Presidential Office.
Dismissing the report, Wang said the Presidential Office’s anti-corruption department had launched an investigation into the matter. The office’s merits of performance committee would make a decision tomorrow and announce the result, he said.
Noting that Presidential Office Secretary-General Chan Chun-po (詹春柏) had recently instructed all Presidential Office officials and employees, excluding the president and vice president, to submit to ID checks in the interest of security, Wang said Chan was very upset about Shih’s behavior and decided to strip him of his managerial position before sending him to the merits of performance committee.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) on July 22 ordered that a new task force be set up to strengthen security at the Presidential Office. Ma also wanted the office to present a report within three months following a string of security breaches, including the intrusion of a woman in her 50s who sneaked into the Presidential Office last month.
Chan was assigned to chair the new task force, which is in charge of strengthening the “internal management mechanism” at the Presidential Office.
Chan has said the task force, which falls under the office’s clean government committee, would focus on improving document, staffing and property management, adding that he hoped to complete a report within the three months set by Ma.
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