Prosecutors yesterday summoned former Presidential Office director Lin Teh-hsun (林德訓) for questioning on suspicion of perjury — an accusation that Lin denied.
Taipei District Court judges asked prosecutors in September to look into whether Lin had committed perjury.
The court convicted Lin and former Presidential Office deputy secretary-general Ma Yung-cheng (馬永成), both of whom were aides to former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), of helping the former first couple embezzle money. They were sentenced to 16 years and 20 years respectively and stripped of their civil rights for eight years and 10 years respectively.
The former aide is suspected of asking the former first family’s bookkeeper, Chen Chen-hui (陳鎮慧), and a friend of former first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) to lie to prosecutors about details related to the presidential “state affairs fund.”
Prosecutors said they found contradictions when they tried to corroborate statements from the witnesses. However, Lin denied the accusations during questioning yesterday.
Lin and Ma were among the codefendants in the former president’s trial who received the heaviest sentences because, the court said, they committed their crimes as civil servants and refuse to confess to their crimes.
Taipei District prosecutors said they may soon question the former president at Taipei Detention Center, where he is being detained, on suspicions that he participated in coordinating perjury among witnesses.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it