Chunghwa Post (中華郵政) said yesterday that it would investigate some problematic accounts after legislators alleged that some accounts were being used by fraud gangs to collect money from their victims.
At the legislature’s Transportation Committee yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) cited an investigation by the Control Yuan that showed the nation’s largest postal firm had approximately 40,000 suspense accounts. A report said the post office had opened 12,235 suspense accounts between January and September 2004, making up 36.7 percent of the total number of suspense accounts in the country. This year, the number had jumped to 47,086, approximately 41 percent of the total.
In response, Chunghwa Post chairman Oliver Yu (游芳來) said many people like to have a savings account at the post office, which may partially explain why the post office has so many suspense accounts. He said an internal investigation showed that some people opened an account at the post office, then later sold the account on to someone else. Among the suspense accounts, 92 percent were purchased from existing post office account owners.
“We have canceled most of the suspense accounts. Now the number is down to only 1,599,” Yu told the committee.
He said the post office has been actively cooperating with police to prevent fraud gangs from exploiting dummy accounts. Since last year, it has handled a total of 806 cases, which involved NT$312 million (US$9.7 million).
He said the post office would establish a special task force to find a solution to the problem.
The committee was scheduled to review the budget for Chunghwa Post for the next fiscal year yesterday, designated National Anti-Fraud Day.
Aside from the suspense accounts, Lo also questioned the post office’s risk management abilities as it listed an accumulated loss of NT$1 billion after investing in Lehman Brothers bonds and three other securities that were now worthless.
“It seems to me that you have a preference for ‘landmine’ stocks,” she said.
Chunghwa Post president Hu Hsueh-yun (胡雪雲) said the company invested in the securities many years ago, when they had seemed to be a good investment.
“The subsequent changes in the financial markets were beyond our control,” Hu said. “Back then, we did not have much experience in leveraging the postal savings fund.”
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS